The Fast and The Furious: Streets Unlimited
by Splint
Summary: A new kid with a shadowy past comes to Miami and introduces the gang to a whole new level of street racing. Chapter 23 up!
1. Prolouge

Disclaimer: The motion pictures the make up the "_The Fast and the Furious_" franchise are copyrighted by Universal Pictures and the films' respective producers. The author of this fiction holds no claims over the ownership of characters established in said motion pictures.

Any and all car brands and aftermarket companies mentioned in this fiction is strictly for the sake of visual and technical reference and the author has no bias towards any specific product lines. As far as I'm concerned, this is free advertising for you guys.

The characters, established by the films and created through me, are completely fictional and any and all similarities towards real people, living or otherwise, are completely coincidental.

What else…Oh yeah! The driving sequences described in this fiction are highly dangerous (and highly unrealistic) and should never be attempted by anybody on public roads.

So please don't sue me.

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8 weeks ago

In the dead of night on some abandoned back road built on the side of a low mountain range somewhere in the middle of Nevada the quiet of the night was broken by the sounds of engines and sirens.

The winding road was unforgiving and it allowed the skills of the four drivers who were on that road to truly shine. The leader of the pack was blur of color even in the corners and the three behind struggled to catch up to it.

It looked like a race but it wasn't. It was a chase and not that there was anyone around to watch it anyway. The three tailing cars were all black, unmarked, Police Cruisertoria Police Cruisers with supped-up engines and red sirens flashing and blaring from speakers on the roofs.

Even with those modifications the three black cars could not even get close to the subject of their chase: silver Nissan Silvia S15, modified with a C-west GT-Type body kit, carbon fiber spoiler, NISMO racing wheels, carbon fiber hood on the outside and. The car came in a strange two tone color. The top part of the car was silver and filled with faded spots and scratches while the custom body kit was in its base white color. Inside, the car had enough modifications to the power and handling to compete with even the most exotic supercar.

On the straights, the car was great. On the corners the car was better. The car had amazing grip but if needed the driver of the S15 could demonstrate why the Japanese loved this car for drifting.

The driver checked his rear view mirrors. The three cars that were chasing were still there, albeit a little further away than the last time he checked. But he knew that if he didn't lose them now, he'll regret it later. They couldn't keep up forever but they could do it just long enough to call for back up, set up a road-block ahead, call in a chopper. None were good outcomes.

He had to get rid of them soon.

The driver of the S15 suddenly let off the gas just a bit to allow the Police Cruisers to get a little closer. He anticipated a turn up ahead; the ones behind him didn't. The leading Police Cruiser was now right up his rear bumper. Just then the turn came.

The driver of the S15 quickly did a Scandinavian flick which put the car into a drift around the corner. The Police Cruiser behind couldn't see past the S15 so when the tuner car went into a perpendicular direction and disappeared the driver of the Police Cruiser couldn't stop in time and went off the road, sliding down a sandy slope and lightly crashing into some rocks below.

The driver of the Police Cruiser was shaken badly and the car's suspension was damaged heavily. It was out of the chase.

One down two to go, the S15 driver thought.

The S15 thundered on. The driver was sure that the other two would get nervous now. He needed to move faster. He looked far ahead and spotted a saving grace. There was a tunnel going into the mountain after a long easy turn which he knew he could easily take at high speed. In that moment of distraction however he felt the second Police Cruiser bump him from behind.

He turned his full attention to the second Police Cruiser and watched his driving patterns closely. The Police Cruiser came barreling at him again. The driver quickly switched lanes and the Police Cruiser overtook him. The Police Cruiser's driver's eyes followed the S15 as it dropped back and drove alongside him.

The two drivers were met face to face although a lack of internal lighting from either car hid one man's face from the other. The driver of the S15 suddenly raised a hand and pointed to the road ahead. The Police Cruiser's driver looked quizzically at him then remembered that all important rule of driving: keep your eyes on the road.

The Police Cruiser's driver looked ahead all too late. The turn had already come up without him noticing and he couldn't turn the car in time. The second Police Cruiser drove straight up the side of the mountain, did a barrel roll in mid air, and somehow landed on its passenger side door.

The driver of the Police Cruiser was alive but out of commission. All that left just one chaser in this game of high octane cat and mouse.

The tunnel soon came up and the driver of the S15 hatched his plan. As soon as both cars entered the darkness of the tunnel, The S15 did another Scandinavian flick that turned the whole car 180 degrees. Simultaneously the driver shifted into reverse gear and switched off all the lights of the car.

The driver of the third and last Police Cruiser thought this was strange but did not let up on the throttle and took advantage of the S15's drop in speed. That was his mistake and one the driver of the S15 was anticipating. As soon was the Police Cruiser was less than ten feet away from his bumper, the S15 driver suddenly turned on his hi-powered xenon headlights in full blast.

The resulting glare from the bright lights blinded the driver of the Police Cruiser and consequently the driver swerved several times before fishtailing and finally rolling once on its side. The Police Cruiser ended up upright again but the engine was dead and one of the wheels had fallen off the axel.

The driver suffered no more than a bump on his head that may need some ice later. He looked up with hazy eyes at the S15 that had stopped in the idle of the road inside the tunnel. The driver in the S15 had his feature's hidden in shadow.

The S15 went in reverse then did a J-turn and shot forwards and out of the tunnel into the dead night, leaving behind its would-be captors. The chase was over, there would be nobody following him for the night.

In a few more minutes the S15 would reach the interstate and soon it would be out of Nevada. The driver had some idea of where to go after that but beyond that was a gaping mystery. Fine by him, he was used to playing by ear. It was always take the next step and think about it later on. Right now, he needed to get away from the West coast.

Oh, and finish the car's paint as well.

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	2. Chapter 1

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Present day. Miami Florida.

It was early in the morning, not even daybreak yet and the sky was a deep shade of blue. Street lights were still on and provided most of the illumination on the streets which were mostly empty. The sight of people, much less cars, were a rare sight at the moment as most of them were still in bed, not yet ready to face the new day.

The otherwise quiet morning atmosphere was disturbed by the loud noise of tires squealing on asphalt. In an empty parking lot of somewhere on top of the hills a sole pink Honda S2000 did power slides all over the place trailing smoke and melted rubber. On the sidelines two girls, one armed with a laptop, standing by a tricked-out Dodge Ram pick-up truck, watched the S2000 slide around the lot as if it was wet.

The S2000 went to one end of the parking lot and face the other end. It revved its engine a few times; a spooling of a supercharger can be heard. The driver gunned the engine and the car took off like a rocket. When the engine hit the redline she shifted into second gear to gain a bit more speed.

Halfway down the lot, she was redlining at second gear but did not shift up. She wanted to test the cornering. She let of the gas and slammed the breaks and turned the wheel to the right. The car sharply changed direction and went in a curved arc. With a little too much oversteer than the driver wanted. Coming out of the turn, she gunned the engine again and was disappointed at the time it took the car to accelerate.

She did this drill a few times, throwing in a power slide or a drift every now and then but her complaint was the same all throughout. At one point the S2000 came to a halt in the middle of the lot. The two girls on the side quickly went over to the car. The driver of the S2000, a girl named Suki, wore a mildly frustrated expression on her face.

"How was it?" asked the girl with the laptop.

"It's not right for the way I drive," replied Suki almost immediately. "There's too much boost in the higher RPMs. I need a bit more low-end torque for better cornering."

"We thought this might be better, you know, for those long sprints."

"I have the new headers and pistons for that. Besides, even If I get high top speed the way the car is set up now, the other guy will be at the finish line by the time I go full on the speedo."

The girls scratched the backs of their heads. "Well we thought you might like it, though," said the other one.

"When will you guys learn it's not always about power?" Suki replied with a slight smirk. "Let's go already. Tej owes me a tune up anyway."

The two girls walked back to the Ram while Suki quickly did a donut for the heck of it and drove of out of the parking lot and onto the main road. Soon the Ram was already on its way as well. Both cars were on the main roads with a few other cars. Not much traffic yet at this hour.

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The two cars reached the highway some minutes later.

Suki and her two friends cruised along at a modest 70 mph though of course she could do more but it was too early in the day to expect any action. There were starting to see a few more cars on the highway now. Mainly large delivery trucks that were most likely headed to the docks populated the highway and Suki weaved passed them with ease with her friends in the Ram close behind.

As they drove along, Suki eventually noticed something out of the ordinary.

As she was driving past a couple of big rigs she noticed a car between them. Her first thought was that it was there to take advantage of the truck's slipstream (and truth be told, it was) to save on a little gas. But she soon noticed it was actually a tuner car.

"An S15 Silvia? Never seen one of those around here," she said to herself.

She drove alongside the bright, metallic orange Silvia. She admired the nicely flowing black tribal decals on the side that complemented the bright orange metallic body paint and the carbon fiber hood and spoiler. She read some of the after-market stickers that were on the car's door. She got a bit too lost into checking out the car to notice that she was now being watched too. The windows were tinted so she couldn't see clearly inside the car, but she eventually noticed that whoever the driver was he was looking back at her.

She wondered if he was admiring her car. How could he not be? Where else can you find anything like Suki's tricked-out S2000? Suki flashed the driver a smile but couldn't see his reaction to it. She then decided to show-off her car a bit by revving the engine into the redline and shooting off like a rocket at over a 130 mph.

She laughed to herself as she passed the first truck and left it behind in her dust along with the S15. Her two friends in the Ram caught up a few seconds later.

"Still flirting around, Suki?" blared the CB radio she had on the dash. Every now and then, they used these CB radios to coordinate with each other during races.

"You know me, girl," she said with a slight giggle to herself.

"Was that for the Silvia back there?"

"Yeah. Hey, have any of you two seen him before?"

"Naw, we were actually about to ask if you know him."

"No, I've never seen him before."

Suki then noticed something in her mirror. A small orange speck started to get progressively bigger right behind the Ram. She recognized it instantly as the S15 she passed a minute ago.

"Looks like somebody wants to play," Suki said with a smirk.

"Huh? What do you mean by—Whoa! He's coming up fast!"

Suki tightened the four-point harness that strapped her to her seat. She grabbed the CB radio she had and said "See you guys at the garage," and turned it off without even waiting for a response. She shifted into fifth and gunned the engine of her S2000 and blasted down the road. For once she was actually thankful for that new supercharger.

Suki's two friends in the Dodge Ram watched as the bright pink car disappeared into the distance and the new, bright orange car suddenly pass by them and give chase to their friend.

Traffic was building up a bit now as more and more cars began to appear on the expressway but it wasn't too crowded that Suki couldn't go all out. She easily weave in and out of traffic between cars and big trucks. She checked her rearview mirror. The S15 was still there behind her easily keeping up, almost effortlessly. The traffic around them actually proved to be very interesting obstacle where Suki was able to show-off her S2000's maneuverability.

Suki came up to a row of five cars idly driving down the road on the same lane of traffic. She got an idea and accelerated ahead. Using the three rolling cars as obstacles, she performed a slalom through all three at high speed. As she passed each car, her front bumper nearly grazed the rear fender of the car in front of her.

As she passed them all, one or two of the drivers honked their horn in protest of that stunt. She checked her rearview to see of her pursuer. The S15 charged and performed a slalom on the three cars as well, matching Suki's run turn per turn. This driver had skill, Suki thought to herself. But that was only the tip of the iceberg.

"Ok, boy, let's see if you can keep up," she said to herself.

She shifted up to sixth gear and brought the car near its top speed. The S15 replied by also shifting up and going all out. The two cars weaved in and around traffic like the other cars were standing still. Cars were easy enough to go around but the trucks proved problematic at times. Suki charged down the road and went to the right to pass a slow-moving Camry with a surprised old lady in the driver's seat. The S15 sped past that same Camry on the left.

Suki checked her rear-view again. He was still there. She grinned. She looked up ahead and saw an obstacle. Two large trucks were occupying the middle of the road while the rest of the lanes on either side were occupied by cars blocking the way. There was a gap between the trucks as one truck was behind the other and the one behind was speeding up to overtake.

Suki wore an excited smile on her face as they came up to the two large trailer trucks. The truck that was a little behind was moving to pass the slower-moving truck ahead of it and that's when Suki saw an opportunity there and gunned her engine. She passed the first truck, squeezed through the gap just in time and went on ahead, convinced the S15 couldn't follow her anymore.

She was wrong.

Behind the two trucks the driver of the S15 gunned his own engines and drove right along side the speeding rig. Before he lost his chance, the S15 slipped right under the large trailer of the truck and drove under it; the car's roof less than an inch from the bottom of the trailer. When the truck and its trailer were past the truck that was ahead of it, the S15 maneuvered out from under the trailer and back into the light of day.

Suki was surprised at the apparent brazenness of the driver for pulling that kind of stunt. She couldn't react in time when the S15 came up to her and drove along side her S2000. The two cars was now side-by-side driving down the highway at over 150 mph. Suki looked into the side windows of the S15 and though she couldn't identify the driver though the tint of the windows, she could see him smile at her.

The S15 revved up and exceeded the S2000's speed. The fact of the matter is that the S15 had a much higher top speed than the S2000 and Suki knew this now. She let off the gas and watched in amazement as the S15 disappeared into the distance.

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A few hours later, Tej's Garage.

Suki pulled into the front area of the garage where a bunch of other tuner cars were already parked. She spotted Orange Julius' RX-7 and Slap Jack's Supra up front. She also saw the Dodge Ram her two friends a while ago. Suki parked in a spot ahead of those three cars and hopped out. She stretched her limbs as she walked towards the back where the water's edge was located.

When she got there, there were tons of people kicking in the morning. Somewhere in the background some light hip-hop was playing in a relatively low volume so as not to annoy the neighbors. The mood was already pretty hype as some people were in the water taking their equivalent of a daily bath. Suki browsed around to check the faces of the people present.

She saw her crew on one side of the, some of whom were in two piece swimsuits. She saw Slap Jack on a barbeque grill frying up some bacon for breakfast with his girlfriend standing by his side preparing the drinks; lemonade, because it was too early to get wasted. Tej and Jimmy were on another side talking with a bunch of people, no doubt they were talking about the events tonight.

It wasn't even 9 in the morning and already we have a party happenin', thought Suki who ultimately decided to simply head for Slap Jack and get herself some meat to eat.

"Well, well, well," she heard someone say from behind her. "I was wondering when you would show that sweet skirt in here."

Suki didn't need to turn around to know Julius' hands were moving towards her with a life of their own.

"Touch my ass, Julius," she said with a stern voice, "and you'll find out how hard it is to drive with a couple of broken thumbs."

Orange Julius retreated his hand. He smirked and said something in Spanish which Suki didn't get. Julius walked past her and stood in front of Slap Jack's barbeque.

"Hey, man," said Jack. "It's too early in the morning to be doing that."

"Aww, C'mon _esse_, Just tryin' to say _hola_." He said as he grabbed a couple of plates with bacon eggs and a plastic spork and passed one to Suki who took it with a slight 'hmph'

"Tray and say _hola_ to me and I swear I'll make you eat your own exhaust," said Suki.

"Hey, if that's the only way I can get you to talk to me," said Julius as he took a slice of bacon with his hand and bit a chunk off. Slap Jack just rolled his eyes and continued on cooking. Suki treated herself to some of that food on her plate and made to turn away. She stopped and turned back when a thought came to her head.

"Actually, there is something I wanna talk to you about," she said. "You too Slap."

They all paid attention to her now. "What's up, then, Suki?" asked Slap Jack.

"You guys know anybody around here who drives a Silvia?"

Slap Jack and Julius looked towards each other for a moment then back at Suki.

"I think there's this cat, Carl, up in Richmond who owns one."

"What's the model and color?"

"'97 model. Blue."

Suki sighed in slight frustration. That was not who she was looking for. "How about a '99 model, orange with black graphics on the side. Know anyone with that?"

Both Slap Jack and Julius shook their heads.

"Fie, I'll just go talk to Tej."

Suki walked away and left the three at the barbeque a little confused. She wanted to go over where Tej was but she saw that he was too busy and didn't wanna talk to him just then. She decided to head inside the garage.

Inside the garage was an array of exotic looking tuner cars and a few muscle cars here and there. There was even an Aston Martin on one of the lifts getting a tune up. The music from outside was dampened by the sound of power tools. Most of Tej's staff were actually outside enjoying the morning and there was only one other person other than Suki in the garage.

"Jimmy? Is that you?" she asked.

Jimmy popped his oil stained face from under the hood of his car. He looked up and saw Suki there holding a plate of food and chewing on a piece of bacon.

"Yo, Suki, what's happening?" he greeted her.

"Whatever it is, you're missing it," she said. "First thing in the morning and your working on your car?"

"Waddaya mean first thing? I never crashed last night."

Suki was a bit surprised but not all that much. It was as if she was expecting this a bit o some level. Jimmy was a bit different from before now that he got through some new experiences and she was just trying to catch up to him.

Ever since about a three weeks ago, Jimmy got his first car of his own: A VW Golf Mk V R32. He was more than eager to take it out on a spin. Suki remembers that night well. She was riding along with him while testing out her friend's 350Z. They came to a stoplight then somehow, by complete coincidence, ended up side-by-side with some punk rich boy and his prissy girlfriend in a Ferrari F355 F1 Spyder.

A sleazy remark must've been said somewhere as suddenly Jimmy was revving the heck out of his engine. Suki saw what was coming up next. As soon as the light turned green the Golf R32 and the F355 went flying off the line leaving Suki in the dust. She quickly launched after them but didn't make an attempt to overtake either one. She was just thankful there was no traffic at that road.

For the most part, the F355 was steadily gaining a lead. Suki wasn't surprised but Jimmy was getting frustrated behind the wheel. Suddenly, the guy in the F355 got too cocky and made the mistake of miss-shifting. The F355 lost precious speed and allowed Jimmy's Golf to blaze into the lead and level the guy in the dust.

Ever since then, Jimmy caught the racing bug. Every opportunity he got, he entered into a race or started one himself. He got lucky in all of them and built a small reputation for himself. Tej, his mentor, was none too excited about the idea but didn't disagree to it. He helped Jimmy along watched the kid's back.

He spent almost all his free time (including most of his sleep time) tuning his car and in the span of three weeks since his first race the Golf received a Rieger body kit complete with front and rear fenders, side skirts, and a low spoiler, black finished 18" Ace rims wrapped in Yokohama racing tires, a short shift package, spark plugs, cold air intake, a sports camshaft, and a tuned engine management system from Neuspeed, coil over suspension and roll bars from Intrax, Brembo breaks, a stage 1 supercharger kit from VF-Engineering, custom gauge packages on the dash, Sparco seats, a MOMO steering wheel, and the ever popular nitrous kit provided by NOS. Jimmy also had his car painted in a metallic black coat and spiced it up with digital-style graphics on the sides and on the hood.

Overall the car was a beast of a hot hatch pulling about 350 horses under the hood. Building the car was one thing. Driving it was another venture. Jimmy had some talent, they all could see that. But in truth the kid was far from being a professional. And that worried them all.

"With this baby," continued Jimmy, "I'm gonna dominate tonight's races."

"You're participating tonight?"

"Yeah. Ain't nobody gonna beat me in this thing."

"You shouldn't be so confident, Jimmy. It pays to be a little nervous every now and then."

"What for?"

"That way you're more open to mistakes, more adaptable. You can't just assume everything will go your way, Jimmy, even if you had the best car out there."

Jimmy simply grinned back at that remark. "C'mon, Suki. Who's out there that you think can beat me?"

Suki smirked. She could think of one guy.

Just then Julius and Slap Jack came into the garage. Suki and Jimmy turned their heads towards them as they came in.

"What's up?" asked Jimmy.

"This _vato_ ran out of bacon," said Julius pointing towards Jack.

"Hey man, it ain't my fail Moses can't keep his fat ass in check," said Jack, "Anyway we need more food."

"Well you're not gonna find any here," said Jimmy. "I didin't get any groceries yet. Too busy working on my car."

"Yeah about that. You really thinkin' of racing tonight with that? I mean it's a swee ride and all, Jimmy, but you're no Rhys Millen."

"I can handle myself, Slap."

Jimmy said that with a serious tone and Suki noticed. He really wanted this but there was the possibility he might regret it. But she knew she couldn't stop him now. She decided to change the subject of the conversation.

"Well, anyway, if it's food you want, let's just call for some pizza again like we usually do," said Suki as she walked to a phone on the wall. She dialed a number without thinking much about it. It was a number she's been getting used to for the past couple weeks.

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Somewhere on the other side of the city.

At a little establishment that read Leguizamo's Pizzas the morning was kicking off as it usually did. The few tables that were in the small restaurant were quickly being filled with hungry breakfast goers who were looking for cheap Italian cuisine. In the kitchen, the small labor force of three chefs, including the owner of the restaurant (a Mr. Enrique Leguizamo) were all cooking up a storm.

Mr. Leguizamo came out of the kitchen just as the front door opened to let in a young man. "You're late!" Mr. Leguizamo said almost automatically with a heavy Columbian accent.

The young man in question looked to be in his early twenties. He was about five-and-a-half feet tall with an average build. His light skin complexion didn't specify any nationality but something in it said that he was half American. The other half was up for debate. He had short, straight, black hair under his red cap which bore the name of the restaurant. He wore a red polo shirt that also bore the name of the restaurant along with a phone number written in the back. Below that was a plain old pair of blue jeans and sneakers.

Pinned to his shirt was a nametag that read: Alex.

"You say that every time, sir," he said right back to his boss.

"That's because every time it's true!"

"Hey I always deliver the pies you give me on time, don't I? 30 minutes or less right? Otherwise it's free."

"Yes, sure, you haven't been late yet but your last delivery was almost late by one minute. The guy himself called me back and told me so."

"Ok, who the hell complains that their pizza was _almost_ late by one minute?"

"People who want it for free…which is everybody in this country," said Mr. Leguizamo as he picked up half-a-dozen large pizza boxes on and placed them on the counter top. "Here, your next delivery."

"Already? I just got back here!"

"Don't complain. You should count yourself lucky that the people in this country are too lazy and too fat to make their own food. That's why you still have a job and I have a business." He wrote an address on a notepad on the counter, ripped of the paper and put it on top of the stack of pizza boxes then pointed out the door. "Twenty-eight minutes left, boy. You better move."

With a frustrated sigh, Alex grabbed the stack. "Who ever heard of a Columbian guy running a pizza place anyway?"

Mr. Leguizamo gave him a stern look and Alex simply smirked in response then headed out of the restaurant with the stack of pizza in hand.

Outside, Alex made a beeline for the scooter parking area. He walked over to his scooter, a Honda Metropolitan painted in the restaurant's colors, stuffed the stack of pizza boxes into the large, insulated box for pizzas stuck to the back, grabbed that little piece of paper with the address on it, hopped on, and started the vehicle, all in less than seven seconds. He read the address on the paper. The name of the place was "Tej's Garage."

It was then that he hesitated a bit as he read the name of the place again. He couldn't help but smile. He was going to that place again.

He propped up the kick stand and turned the throttle hitting the road at a modest 30 mph.

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Author's Note: My first shot at an FnF fic. Always been a fan of the movies and a bit of an addict to racing video games. So here's what I've got so far. I have a big story planned for this so this is gonna take a while.

In the meantime, I'd love to hear some feedback. Pls. R&R


	3. Chapter 2

Tej's garage

Outside on the water, people on Jet skis were racing around buoys on the water. Tej, who started all this, was hollering at the racers through a megaphone. Around him he crowds were cheering and his voice was actually getting drowned out a bit. This was how it was in Miami. After the race was finished, a percentage of the crowd cheered for the winner while a few groaned in frustration like they just lost a bet. Most likely they did. Tej got to them quickly and started collecting their losses.

"Yeah, that's what I'm talkin' 'bout! Hand it in brah!" he said as he passed by the losers who handed him small wads of cash. "What's the matter? A little upset? Don't be trippin' dudes, that's why it's called gambling. Now pay up, pay up pay up…"

The last guy handed him a rather thick wad of twenties. Looked to be about 500 worth.

"What's the matter boy, you don't look too happy," said Tej with a grin.

"Yeah, whatever," said the guy. "I'll get back what I lost here by tonight anyway."

"Yeah? How's that gonna happen?" Tej continued his grin as he counted his money.

"Your boy's gonna be there, right?"

"Jimmy?...Yeah, why?"

"Then I know who I'm betting against, man."

The man then walked away to find something better to do. Tej wasn't grinning so much anymore.

The crowds have begun to dissipate as the spectacle of the water races were over for now. They all just went back to socializing. This was a typical Friday at Tej's place. The only day of the week where it wasn't 'business as usual' as compared to the other days. Tej pocketed his money away and looked towards the barbeque grill. He noticed Slap Jack wasn't there. More importantly, there wasn't any food on the grill.

Tej realized that the inevitable happened when you get a bunch of overactive people together in a high-energy environment. Well, usually this means the crowd's hunger was satisfied. His, however, was not. Guests first, hosts later, that was always the way it was. Now Tej just wished he named a few strips of bacon for himself but too late now. He decided to try and find grub inside his garage instead.

When he came in he saw Jimmy working on his car again, bent over the front and reaching into the engine bay. Slap Jack and Orange Julius were just hanging about watching jimmy work while Suki was standing in the middle of the floor with a stopwatch in her hand.

"Whacha all doin in here?" asked Tej.

"Waiting for some eats, man," replied Julius.

"Yeah, I noticed we were out back there. So what you waiting for exactly?"

"Six large Hawaiian pies," replied Suki without glancing away from her stopwatch.

"Ahhh, somehow I thought so. I'm starting to think you call that place for more than the pizza, Suki."

That was when Suki glanced up at him. "As if, Tej."

Tej smirked. That specific delivery guy has been delivering Pizza's for them for the past week-and-a-half. It didn't take long for Tej to realize that Suki was a little fond of him. Of course at the moment he didn't think her interest in the guy was anything more than platonic. Not that he was jealous or anything. Though Tej has been known to flirt with Suki every now and then but that was just being friendly. Hell, he flirts with just about all the ladies he meets. He was a playa after all. And Suki had her own share of suitors.

As for the pizza guy, Tej though he was pretty cool. He had the kind of personality that could leave an impression. Also he has shown a little interest in their business of cars. The rest of the guys seem to be ok with him as well.

"So when will he get here?" he asked.

Suki looks back at her stopwatch. "Well it's been twenty-nine minutes already so he should be here any sec--"

A young man in a red shirt and cap suddenly ran into the garage carrying a stack of pizza boxes. As soon as he was inside he bent over and struggled for breath.

"Here's…your…order," he huffed between breaths.

Everyone wore an expression of slight humor on their faces.

"Rough traffic?" asked Jimmy, looking up from his work.

"Well, you made it at least. You were only almost late by about a minute," said Suki.

"You're not gonna call my boss to complain about that, will you?"

"Who the hell calls to complain about pizza that was _almost_ late?"

Alex smirked. "You'd be surprised."

Suki took the pizza boxes from his hands as well as handed him a generous wad of cash which covered the food and a generous tip for Alex.

"Thanks for the pizzas as always, Alex," said Suki as she carried the stack to a table.

"Don't mention it. Just don't call me in the middle of morning rush hour again," he took a deep breath and finally stood straight again, fully recovered. "Hey, it looks like you got a pretty cool party happenin' back there. Can I hang out a bit?"

"Party's just about done," said Slap Jack. "You shoulda came here two hours ago."

"What I can't hang out here? I like it here."

"We're busy dude," said Jimmy. "I gotta get this thing ready for the races tonight."

Alex turned to Jimmy the instant her heard the word races. "Races? You guys have a race tonight!? Where!?"

"Why are you so interested?" asked Suki.

"Well, I wanna go there. See what's up."

Everyone in the garage snickered on Alex's behalf which left him a little confused. Tej walked up to him.

"You think you can roll with us?"

"Yeah, I can."

"Sorry, man," said Tej. "Only those who fit the bill get an invite to these things."

"What, I can drive a car. Lend me some keys and I can show you."

"Anyone can drive a car. Not everybody can race. Event like these are exclusive to those who got what it takes to burn rubber and melt asphalt. If you want in on this stuff you gotta show us that you got some serious need for speed."

Alex smirked and looked Tej right in the eye. "Dude, you have no idea what I can do. Give me a chance and I'll show you."

"_Idiota_, you can barely deliver a pizza on time," said Julius while eating a slice of Hawaiian pizza.

Alex looked towards him with an indifferent smile. "I'm not that good on two wheels."

Tej was analyzing the way Alex answered just then. There was something in his eyes that somehow made Tej believe what he said that they have no idea what he can do. Tej quickly dismissed that notion though. This guy was just a pizza delivery boy. Sure he may know a few things about tuning cars and racing but he has never shown any sign of having been behind the wheel of a real race car. Still, that look bothered Tej. He had seen that look before. He saw it on people who knew what it was like to cross the finish line first.

"Well he can just watch if he wants to, there's no rule against that is there?" said Suki.

Tej smirked and nodded his. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Really?"

"Yeah. The races are gonna be on the docks at the port. I'm sure you know where that is."

"Thanks! Really though, If you let me just show off what I can do…"

"Man, you can barely deliver pizzas on time," said Slap Jack with a snicker.

"Hey, man, I almost got side-winded by some clown on a segway on my way here man. Like I said, morning rush hour."

"Speaking of "rushing" don't you have a job to do?" asked Suki.

Alex was about to say something when realization hit him. "Aw, crap, that's right!"

Alex rushed out the door and back onto his scooter.

"See, you later then," he heard Suki say to him.

"I'll be there!" he shouted right back.

Alex got back onto his Honda Metropolitan scooter and jetted off the garage parking lot. In the back of his head he worried that his boss would rile him about taking too long getting back. But his foremost thought was about the races at the docks tonight. His blood was already boiling with excitement. It's been a long while since he's even seen a street race. He guessed he spent too much time in hiding. He couldn't wait to get back to that again. The sheer thrills of unbridled speed.

He would make good on his promise. He will be there. He will also bring a little something along and, God willing he be given the opportunity, prove to these guys just what he was made of.

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Several hours later.

This being Miami, the city never really sleeps. In the main streets and city districts clubs and bars were turning on their bright neon signs inviting nighttime party-goers to come into their establishments. There was never a shortage of fun to be found in Miami, no matter what your taste. Even those with the most extreme taste in thrills can find what their looking for and somewhere in the port near the more industrial part of the city, thrills were being served on high octane.

The sun has set and the party was just beginning in between the cranes, warehouses, and many rows and stacks large metal containers delivered on the decks of large cargo ships from exotic locations around the world. The docks were alive with the beats of pumping hip-hop and metal rock from well over ten dozen speakers from cars all over the place. Everywhere one would look there was a tuner car tricked-out to ridiculous proportions. And if one were to look even closer, they could spot a race or two happening.

In one long stretch of pavement underneath the rows of loading cranes sitting next to the water and among a cheering crowd, a drag race was about to take place. On one side, someone's lightly tuned '03 Ford Falcon GT.

On the other side was a black striped, candy purple 1972 Plymouth 'Cuda, heavily tuned with a 528 Hemi crate engine assembly from Mopar Performance coupled with a custom Magnaflow performance exhaust kit, a SPEC stage 5 clutch kit, custom Wilwood brakes, KYB high performance shocks, Falken racing tires and a set of 20" DMP black chrome rims from American Racing…just for show.

Exactly a quarter of a mile away, a dude with a spray-paint drew a whit line across the concrete pavement. From out of the crowd near the starting line, a scantily clad girl in a short frilly skirt walked out and stood in the middle of the road. Upon seeing her crowd cheered in anticipation. The girl pointed to one driver and he revved his engine in response. The girl pointed to the other driver and he revved his engine in response. Both were ready.

The girl then raised he hand up in the air and waited a few seconds then suddenly dropped it towards the ground.

Both cars took off, the Cuda doing a rather impressive wheelie as both cars passed the starter girl the slipstreams they generated blew up the girl's skirt, much to the cheers of the crowd.

That wheelie caused a loss of a little speed when the 'Cuda's front wheels came back down onto the ground. The Ford got an early lead but didn't hang on to it for long. The driver in the ford was not that experienced and it showed in the screeching whenever he tried rushing the gear changes.

The driver in the 'Cuda was more experienced and had the hometown advantage. His shifts where clean as if he was doing this for years, and in truth he was. He also had the advantage of having over 600hp under the hood. The driver dropped the pedal to the floor and the 'Cuda's speedometer gained a mile a millisecond.

Half-way down the quarter-mile stretch the 'Cuda was a whole car length ahead of the Ford. The driver of the Ford got a little panicked and triggered his nitrous kit. The ford zoomed ahead a bit and took the lead for a second. The driver of the 'Cuda grinned and simply shifted up to fifth gear.

That was all it took.

The 'Cuda stormed ahead and left the Ford in its dust. By the time the 'Cuda crossed the finish line, 9.5 seconds passed and the Ford came a full two seconds later.

The crowd at the finish line exploded in cheer as the 'Cuda slowed down. The driver showed his celebration of his victory by doing some donuts, leaving black circles on the pavement and white clouds in the air. The crowd cheered him on, among them Tej, Suki and Jimmy.

The 'Cuda stopped its spinning around enough for the driver, Roman Pearce, to get out, hop onto his hood, and stretch his arms out towards the crowd.

"Whose house is this!?" he hollered.

The crowd cheered his name. "ROME'S!"

"Say again! Whose house is this!?"

The crowd cheered his name again, Suki being the loudest much to Tej's annoyance since he stood right next to her. "ROME'S!!"

"Yeah! That's right!"

Rome stepped off his car and walked towards the driver of the Ford who was already standing outside of his car and looking a little bit dejected. The Ford driver saw Rome coming and instantly knew to reach into his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash amounting to 2,000. Rome reached his hand out and the Ford driver placed the wad of cash down on it. Rome pocketed it and shook the man's hand.

After they parted ways, Rome went straight towards Tej and the others. "What's happenin', hommie?"

"You bank is what's up," said Tej. "Nice ride by the way."

"You know me. I'm one for the classics. What's up Suki, Jimmy?"

"Good race, Rome," commented Suki.

"Yeah, man, that was tight," concurred Jimmy.

"So I heard you got ride that you wanna take racing, Jimmy."

"Yeah. It's a hot car alright, and I'm gonna dominate whoever that fool was who asked for this race in the first place."

"That fool happens to be a veteran racer from New York, Jimmy," said Tej. "You should be a little nervous at least."

"I don't care where he's from, I'll smoke him anyway."

Tej was really getting worried about that kid's overconfidence. Rom had been a little worried too and Suki just wanted to get from him for a while. Jimmy might not be getting nervous but she was. Besides there was somebody she wanted to find.

"Well, whatever Jimmy," she said. "I'm just gonna go look around and talk to some people." Suki moved away from her friends and towards the crowds.

"Gonna try and look for the pizza boy?" asked Jimmy.

Suki simply looked back with a smirk before disappearing. Rome looked quizzically at Tej and Jimmy. "Pizza boy?"

"A new friend of ours, apparently," said Tej.

"Yeah? Well anyway, Jimmy, Tej is right, dawg. I hear this guy that put up the challenge is packing a Supra. You're gonna have to be careful about this. I mean you're racing for six grand here."

"Don't worry, this isn't a drag race. It's a circuit. The race will be decided in the corners and I'm ready for that."

True, it was a 2 lap circuit race that involved short sprints and right angle turns. The only real problem Jimmy should have is in the quarter mile sprint just before the final turn towards the start/finish line With Luck, Jimmy will have left his opponent behind in just the first few turns.

Jimmy winning was very plausible at this point, based on the race track, the opponent, and Jimmy's own skills. But still there was something about this guys who Jimmy's supposed to race just rubs Rome the wrong way.

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Somewhere in the crowds.

A man in a leather jacket moved inconspicuously through the crowds pretending to be just another partygoer. He was at the starting line of the big race for the night. In front of the starting line, two empty cars were already parked simply waiting for their drivers to get there. A crowd has gathered around the cars to admire them and check out their features. This would be their last chance as the race will start in a few minutes.

The two cars were Jimmy's Golf R32 and a shiny red Toyota Supra with a Bomex body kit and flame graphics on the side.

The man in leather ignored the Supra. He knew enough about it. his friend owned it after all, the same friend who will race later on. He moved towards the Golf instead since his friend asked him to do something for him. The man in leather moved right up to the Golf in between a couple of onlookers who were trying to peer into the cars inside. He looked around to make sure no one was watching him.

The man in leather then took out a very sharp switch-blade from his pocket and, very inconspicuously, pierced a hole on the front right side wheel. He could feel the rush of air coming out of the hole he just made. By the time the race starts, the tire would have lost half its pressure and by the middle of the race…

Well, he could probably pity the driver for what might happen to him. But all he could think about was what to do with his share of the 6,000 they were about to win.

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Somewhere else among the crowds.

Suki browsed the face of the people there. Some she recognized other she didn't but none of them had the face of the person she was looking for. But eventually she found who she was looking for near the front of the warehouses.

In front of the line of warehouses was an even longer line of parked cars, all of them tuned to some degree. Some of the people there were the drivers and most others were just onlookers admiring the cars and among those onlookers was Alex who was taking his time admiring a tuned BMW M3 someone brought along.

Suki spotted him and went to him. When she was right behind him she asked "How long have you been here?"

Alex turned around to the sound of her voice. "Oh, hey, Suki. Almost didn't notice you there." He then gave her wardrobe (skin-tight denim shorts, high boots, and a designer tank top) a once over. "Then again that would be rather hard not to notice you."

Suki was always one to enjoy some light flirting. She smirked back at him. "Thanks. Nice to see you changed out of uniform."

Alex's new wardrobe consisted mainly of a simple combination of blue jeans, sneakers, a t-shirt, and a dark colored jacket. From his wardrobe no one would give Alex a second look.

So I see you're really into this stuff, huh?"

"More than you think."

"Did you ride your little scooter here?"

Alex grinned. "Naw. I actually _drove_ here."

"So you do have a car. Where is it then?"

"It's parked inside this warehouse somewhere," He pointed to the one closest to them. "Would've parked it out here but I ran out of room."

"Cool. Maybe when this is over you can show us what you can do."

Alex smirked and looked her straight in the eye. "Why you've already seen what I can do, Suki."

Suki was about to reply with some snappy comeback pertaining to his pizza delivery skills but when she saw that look in his eye she hesitated. It was very clear he wasn't talking about pizzas this time. Before she could ask him what he really meant, Alex cut her off with a question.

"By the way, when is Jimmy's race coming up? That's what I came here for after all."

"Oh that. Well it should be starting any minute now. Their cars are already at the starting line. I think I'll just stay here and watch with you."

"You know I hope that boy of yours really can drive as good as he boasts."

"Yeah…me too."

Call it ESP, or plain old woman's intuition, Suki had a very bad feeling from this race.

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Minutes later.

The race was about to begin. A large crowd has already gathered around the starting line where the Golf R32 and the Supra were sitting. The drivers arrived soon afterwards. Jimmy stood next to his Golf while the driver of the Supra walked up to his car with his posse in tow. The man who approached was a white Irish-looking guy wearing a black tank top that showed of the muscles on his chest and especially his arms. He had a stern look of seriousness on his face that made some people melt in front of him.

Jimmy didn't fall for the tough guy act. But when he saw the Car he was driving he did start to get a little nervous. He heard from someone that thing was pulling 500 horses under the hood and for Supra and an experienced enough mechanic, that wasn't too hard to do. But Jimmy knew he still had an advantage over this kind of race. Speed and power isn't everything. He knew his handling and weight advantage can turn the race in his favor.

"Ready to lose?" asked the Supra driver in a deep tone.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Jimmy replied with a confident grin.

As the Supra driver opened his door, he looked to his friend, who was dressed in leather, and asked "Is it done?" The friend nodded with a wry smirk. The Supra driver smirked back. This Race was already his.

Both drivers got into their cars and strapped themselves in. Tej walked up in between the two cars and spoke to both drivers. "Alright, here's how it's gonna go down. It's simple. Two laps around the course and first set of wheels back across this line is the winner. I suppose both of you know where to go by now.

Both drivers nodded.

The geometric course was simple and it followed the right angles and straights as defined by the stack of containers and buildings around the port. From the starting line there was a short 500 ft dash to the first corner which was a wide hairpin turn turning right. After that was a short 200 ft long dash then a left turn into a wide straight are in front of the warehouses that lasted a good 950 ft approximately. That is followed by another left turn into a short dash no more than 100 ft then a quick right into a another short sprint about 300 ft long. The was followed by another right turn into a longer 600 ft sprint followed by another right turn into a long quarter mile straight. That went into one final right turn and a 100 ft dash to the start/finish line.

With everything set, it was time to race.

Tej pointed to both drivers. Both nodded that they were ready. Tej raised both hands up and, waited for a couple of seconds, then dropped them to the ground.

Both cars took off the starting line. With the glove gaining a quick lead. Jimmy was quick to try and block his opponent by driving into his opponent's path. This took away some of the Supra's power advantages but the driver of the Supra was not nervous at all.

They both reached the first corner which was the hairpin turn. Jimmy downshifted and braked right on time and turned in like normal, but unlike normal, where his car would easily take the corner, Jimmy experienced a colossal amount of understeer and he went much wider than he ever expected. The Supra took full advantage of this and powerslided on his way out of the turn and gained the lead.

Jimmy somehow managed to gain control of his car on his way out but that understeer made him really nervous now. He powered on and shifted up a gear and quickly started to gain on the Supra when the next turn came up. The turn would lead into the area in front of the warehouses and Jimmy hoped to gain some grounds on the wide open spaces that provided.

In front of the warehouses, people were now waiting for the two competitors to show. Alex and Suki were the most anticipating among the crowd.

"I can hear them already," said Alex.

"C'mon, Jimmy, you can do this," quietly cheered Suki.

Just then the Supra popped out of the corner of the farthest warehouse to their right. The Supra powerslided out of the corner and was soon thundering down the straight. Jimmy's Golf R32 showed up a second later again turning in trying to take advantage of the Golf R32's 4WD system. But like the first corner, he experienced massive understeer. But it didn't end there.

He came in to fast out of the corner and Jimmy soon felt his right front wheel suddenly dig into the pavement. The car's momentum flipped it up into the air, did a180 degree rotation, and then fell down on its passenger side. The car scrapped across the pavement a bit before tilting back down onto its wheels.

This all happened in front of a very stunned crowd and none were more stunned than Alex and Suki who watched in horror. A little ways ahead on the course, the Supra driver looked at his rear view mirror and watch the Golf just sit there with smoke coming out of its hood, grinning with satisfaction.

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Author's note: I got some good reviews and a few alerts from the first chapter so I think I'm off to a good start with this. More excitement to come next chapter. Be on the lookout.


	4. Chapter 3

At the docks.

Jimmy was shaking in his seat. His has clamped onto the steering wheel with a vice-like grip. He was breathing a gallon of air a minute and his vision, hearing, and sense of touch were blurry at best. But otherwise he was uninjured considering the spectacular crash he went through. The car was done, however. The radiator was broken and leaking. The car was in no shape to continue driving let alone racing.

Already a crowd was growing near the Golf but first to the car was Suki and Alex. Suki quickly opened the driver side door to see to Jimmy.

"Jimmy? Are you alright?"

Jimmy was shaking in his seat, still gripping the wheel. He looked wearily at Suki. "Yeah…I…think I'm fine," he said in a cropped tone.

"Anything broken?" asked Alex. "Aside from the car that is."

"No…no, noting. I'm okay."

"You wanna get outta that seat?"

"…Sure."

Jimmy struggled to unbuckled his harness. Though he was ok physically, he still needed Suki's help in order to get out of the car. And even then he couldn't stand up straight just yet. Suki continued to whisper reassuring messages into his ear to help him recover.

For his part, Alex was glad that Jimmy was ok but something was bothering him in that crash. It shouldn't have happened. He knew the Golf R32 and he's seen a few sample of it in action before. A turn like that at that speed should've been no problem for the car and driver. Then there was that understeer and the way the wheel seemed to dig into the ground which caused the car to flip. That wouldn't happen unless—

Alex had a feeling. Something wasn't right. He took one last look at Jimmy to make sure he was ok before head around the front and towards the left side front wheel.

Meanwhile, Rome's purple 'Cuda pulled up to the scene. Rome stepped out of the driver's seat and Tej stepped out from the passenger seat. The crowds made way for them as they went for Jimmy.

"What happened?!" asked Tej. "Is he hurt?!"

"No he's fine, Tej," said Suki, "just a little shaken up."

"What happened to the car?" asked Rome.

"Flipped after coming out of the corner."

"How the hell did that happen?"

"It doesn't matter," said a new but familiar deep voice among the group.

Everyone look towards the source. Tej recognized him instantly. It was the driver of the Supra who was Jimmy's opponent in the race. He came back and he took his posse with him. Tej and the others knew little about him. All they know was that he goes by the alias "Bull." He recently came to Miami from New York and he brought quite a reputation with him.

He's been cleaning house at almost every race event he's been in for the past couple of months. Tej knew it was a mistake allowing Jimmy to race this guy in the first place but he never expected things to go this badly.

"It doesn't matter because in the end, he still would've lost to me," said Bull. "Suck-ass drivers like him don't belong on the tarmac among real racers."

"Hey, man you shut your mouth!" shot back Rome.

"Or what? You can't argue the fact that the race in mine. You guys got no right to complain. You challenged me, remember?"

Rome was silent, but fuming. Tej and Suki couldn't do anything.

They continued to argue for a bit more with Rome trying to be the antagonist he was known to be from time to time. While all this was happening, Alex was on one knee feeling around the flat left side front tire. He had his hand feeling across the surface of the tire.

He knew what he was looking for. This situation wasn't anything new to him, much to his regret. He saw the signs and he wanted to know for sure. He continued to feel all over the exposed surface of the tire and after a few short moments, he found what he was looking for. And when he did, he got pissed.

"I want my money," said Bull.

"What?" replied Tej.

"The race was for six grand."

"Hey, man, can't you just wait a little, I gotta make sure my boy's alright here."

"Screw that! Just shut up and give me the money that I _won_!"

"Bullshit!" exclaimed Alex as he slowly got up from where he knelt near the wheel.

Everyone in the crowd turned their attention to him now, Alex looked hard at Bull. Fitting name, he thought, too bad it was only half accurate.

"What the hell did just say?" said Bull.

"That win was not legit. Neither is your claim on that cash. You didn't win anything. You don't deserve the win and Jimmy didn't deserve that crash."

On the other side of the car, Rome looked at Alex curiously then turned to Tej. "Who's this?" he asked.

"The pizza guy," replied Tej earning him a raised eyebrow from Rome.

Bull seemed to have gotten a little irritated but that show of bravado from Alex. "Big words from you there pal. Got anything to back them up?"

Alex simply smirked. "I know a flat tire when I see one."

Bull was quiet for only a moment before bursting in a fit of giggles. His posse followed suit and so did a few people from the crowd. Suki, Jimmy, Tej and Rome were all looking at Alex curiously, as if the young man had gone mental or something. Alex took all this in stride.

"Yeah, well so do I," said Bull. "Hell, _everyone _with an IQ over 10 knows what a flat tire is, jackass!"

"Yeah, maybe," replied Alex, "but not everybody knows a knife stab when they find it."

With this the laughter died down. Bull looked a bit surprised by this and so did Suki and the others. Tej was darting his sights between Bull and Alex, thinking about the implications of what Alex just said. If that was true then Jimmy's crash was…

"And you say I'm full of bullshit?" retorted Bull.

Alex was holding back a grin. He had played this game before and he played it well. By the time he was done this jerk would be walking away with his tail between his legs. It was all about set up. Play the words right and this guy will fall right into it.

"You can check it for yourself, if you don't believe me."

"So, you're accusing me of cheating?!"

Strike one. Alex smirked a bit but it was barely noticeable. "Cheating? Who said anything about cheating? Who said anything about _you_ cheating?"

Bull was taken aback. He knew he had just fallen for a trap. The worst thing for a guilty party to do is accidental self-implications. Distrust is one of the hardest things to get rid in a person. Tej now narrowed his eyes. Things were getting thicker. Suki, Jimmy, and Rome also seem to be getting the drift of things.

"All I'm trying to say is," continued Alex, "that win was not legit, regardless of who did or if there was any cheating."

"That's crap! This is the streets! Anything goes on the streets! I don't care if his tire blew or not, a win is a win and a loss is a loss!"

"Whatever, bro. That may be where you come from but they do it a little different here." Alex looks towards Tej. "Right?"

Tej looked a little confused for the moment before knowing what he would do. He turned towards Bull. "He's right! We may be on the streets but even here we have a little something honor, brah. You can't call that a win, I don't care who you are. The money's not yours yet. If you want it that bad, you're gonna hafta wait till we set this up again. Then we'll run this with the same rules."

"To hell with that, _brah_!" retorted Bull. "I haven't got all night to wait for you boy over there to go find his balls again!" He turned to Alex. "Unless this ass-wipe can put his money where his mouth is, our discussion here is done! The _only_ way I'm giving you a chance to get your money back is if punk over here throws down!" Bull pointed to Alex during that last sentence.

Strike two. "Sure, I can deal with that."

Bull was again taken aback. This time so was Tej and the others. The crowds were giving off a resounding "oooh" at the blatant, if not casual, acceptance of Bull's challenge to Alex. No one seemed to have been expecting that except maybe Alex himself. And in truth, it was. Bull was digging himself deeper into the trap and all Alex had to do was close and lock the hatch.

"On one condition, though," said Alex. "Triple or nothing. Either that or you're just not worth my time and gas."

The crowds slowly started to cheer. Alex was smirking more noticeably now. Tej and the others were getting increasingly concerned about, mostly because they never expected any of this from Alex. After all, he was just a pizza boy, right? Suki made sure that Jimmy was strong enough to stand on his own then swiftly moved to Alex's side.

"Triple or nothing?!" said Suki. "What do you think you're doing?"

Alex turned to her and replied: "This guy is not worth racing. However, six grand times three is. That's the only way I'll take this guy on. Relax, Suki, the cash won't be a problem." He turns to Bull again. "What do you say, bro?"

"You think you can ask for eighteen grand, just like that?!" retorted Bull.

Strike three. You're out asshole. "This is the streets. Anything goes on the streets."

Around them the crowds were cheering and screaming for Bull to accept the condition. Bull was silenced. He knew right then and there that he was in a trap he couldn't get out of. He was played and he dug himself in too deep. Alex was now staring him down. He knew that the only way this guy could save face was to throw down the cash and accept the conditions. He had nowhere to go because he knew how much of a punk-ass he will look like if he backed out of his own challenge. All that was left to do was to smoke him on the tarmac.

Bull was silent for a while but eventually said: "Fine…"

Alex smirked wide. "Ok then. Give me a minute to fetch my car. I'll see you at the starting line."

Alex started to walked towards the warehouse where he parked his car not giving anyone else a second look. Suki followed him in after giving one last glance to her friends then quickly caught up to Alex and they walked into the warehouse together. Bull was fuming as he got back into his Supra and drove back in the direction of the starting line. All the while, Tej, Jimmy, and Rome were standing there confused.

"What the hell just happened, man?!" asked Rome.

"Man, I have no clue," said Tej, "but I got I feelin' It's gonna be a long night, brah."

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Inside the warehouse.

As expected with the atmosphere of the general area, the place was filled with cars, all of them tuned and modified. Many of the tuners inside were have speaker battles instead of races. Speaker battles were all about watts and not horsepower. The majority of the cars had their trunks open showing off their impressive stereo and light systems trying to out-sound the other guys.

Alex slowed in his walk to appreciate the loud thumping beats that shook the building to its foundation. Suki was right next to him the whole time, only not as calm as he was.

"Alex do you have any idea what you're doing?" she asked. "You just challenged a guy for eighteen grand."

"Technically, he challenged me."

"You reeled him into that and you know it. And what was all that talk about Jimmy's flat tire. You really think he stabbed it to cheat?"

"Maybe after this, I can show you myself where the tire was punctured."

"Bu how do you know this guy cheated?"

"I've been through this before. And the signs were all too obvious. The flat was suspicious enough but when he came up to scene like that, demanding the money first in a hurry, it was just too convenient for him. And the way he answered me when I told everyone about the flat…"

"Setting all that aside, are you sure you can even take this guy on?"

Alex stopped in his walk, right in front of a car. Suki didn't notice this at first but when Alex pulled out a key from his pocket, pressed the button on the infrared remote, and made the car beep, she did notice. And the moment she did she was rendered speechless.

Sitting right in front of her was a bright orange Nissan Silvia S15 with a carbon fiber aero hood and GT wing spoiler, a C-west GT-type body kit, and nicely flowing black tribal decals on the side. Other exterior modifications that she noticed were a set of black NISMO aluminum rims wrapped in Toyo performance tires. She got a peek at the aftermarket names on the side of the door once again, most of which she recognized.

She slowly turned her sights back to Alex with a flabbergasted look on her face. Alex smiled back at her. "Like I said before. You've already seen what I can do, Suki."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Don't give me that look, you started that thing we had on the highway."

Alex moved towards the driver side. She motioned for Suki to take the passenger seat. Suki hesitated a bit before walking around the front and taking the passenger side door and they both climbed in together. Alex fell into his seat like he belonged there. Suki had to adjust herself to the seat. She got a chance to explore the interior as well.

The front seats were replaced with Recaro racing seats complete with four-point harnesses. The inside was reinforced with a custom roll cage. The back seat was completely removed and the back areas seemed to have been spray painted black to match the rest of the interior. The steering wheel was also made by Recaro with added buttons labeled "N20" with easy thumb reach. The stock RPM gauge Speedometer were replaced with professional racing gauges from Auto Meter. Other than that, everything looked stock, although it look like Alex did remove the carpets on the floor to save a little weight.

"Let's go," said Alex as he started the engine which rumbled to life.

Alex stepped on the Gas and was soon out of the warehouse.

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At the starting line.

By then, Bull was waiting at the starting line again, digging into his pockets and trying to come up with the agreed upon purse for the race. Tej, Rome and Jimmy were waiting anxiously on the sideline leaning on Rome's 'Cuda. As for Jimmy's Golf, they managed to push it to the side lines with some help from the crowds. They'll just pick it up later.

"So when is your boy gonna get here?" asked Bull as he paced to and fro in front of his car. "How do you even know this guy?"

"He delivers pizza to us," answered Tej honestly.

"And he thinks he can race!?"

"I don't know. Ask him when he gets here."

"What is that all you can say?!"

"I barely know the guy! And what does it matter anyways? Your challenge, your race! You worry about who he is, man. I'm just the organizer."

Bull turned away annoyed. Rome then turned to Tej. "Hey, man, I'm not too comfortable with this cat, Alex. I know it's hi race now and all but it ain't like you to just let somebody from outta nowhere to take the line like that. Can this guy put it down or what?"

Tej was about to say something when he heard the sound of engines coming their way. When Tej saw it coming out of the corner, he just had to smirk. "Somehow, yeah, I think he can put it down."

Rome, and just about everyone else there, turned towards the end of the straight where the bright orange S15 was driving towards them. The crowds slowly started cheering at the approaching car. When the S15 was about ten yards away, the car did a sudden 180 degree turn and reversed right alongside Bull's Supra.

The doors of the S15 opened and both Alex and Suki stepped out. Alex raised his hand and showed that he held an impressively large wad of cash. Tej took this as his cue and walked in between the two cars and their respective drivers. Alex handed his cash to Tej for his keeping. Tej then turned to Bull who pulled out his cash from his pocket and hand it down.

"Okay then," said Tej, "do I have to review to y'all how this works?"

Bull's response was getting in his car and slamming his door shut. Tej took that as a no. He then turned to Alex since he knew he never explained the race rules to him yet. But Alex waved him off.

"Don't worry man, I got this." He said then got back into his own car.

Tej shrugged and went to his position in front of the two cars. As Alex was getting himself comfortable in his seat, He was a bit surprised when Suki got back into hers. He looked at her inquisitively as she buckled up again.

"You're the one who said you wanted to show us what you got," she said. "Well, here's your chance, pizza boy."

"Well, alright then," he placed his hands on his steering wheel. "I'm just a little worried about the weight handicap."

Suki smirked and nodded. Then she suddenly realized what the comment implied and instantly frowned. She turned her head towards Alex with a look. "Excuse me?!"

Alex didn't have time to answer back. At that moment, Tej had already dropped his hands and yelled "GO!" The race was on.

The Supra was off the line first by a few milliseconds. Alex was off the line, pressing Suki back down onto her seat. Bull in his Supra and Alex in his S15 were neck and neck throughout the first stretch. It almost seemed like the revs were completely synchronized. The whole stretch Alex was looking at Bull through his window, studying his moods.

"Um, Alex?" said Suki. "The corner?"

Alex let off the gas and let the Supra go ahead, long before the corner hit. Alex kept his eye on the Supra as Bull took the corner aggressively going in a wide arc. Alex smirked as he gently eased the S15 through the hairpin turn not even attempting to catch up. By the time they came out of the corner, the Supra was at least four car lengths ahead of the S15. Alex continued to watch the Supra carefully as it made the next corner into the wide area where Jimmy crashed. He was just about getting the gist of Bull's driving style.

Cheat or no cheat, no doubt this guy had some skill worth taking seriously. Alex estimated he must've been racing for at least a year, maybe went to a school somewhere that gave him a few techniques. As for the car, it was no hack job. It was tuned professionally though he doubted that Bull himself did most of the tuning, considering how he handled that car. Drivers who tuned their own cars usually either adapted their driving style to the car or vice versa. It was painfully obvious that Bull and his machine were not in harmony

"Alex," said Suki, "you do know this is a race, right?"

"I do."

"Then why don't you drive like it?"

"Don't worry, I got this. I just want to give this dude something to think about."

Alex decided to show off a bit by drifting across the corner in a wide arc, much to the enjoyment of the crowds that were watching. Alex was easily able to catch up to the Supra but still made no attempt to overtake him. Instead he stayed right on his bumper. It was the same story through the next four corners.

The S15 matched the Supra's every maneuver and remained at a modest two car lengths away up to the last, quarter mile straight before the start/finish line. During the straight both cars easily reached a top speed of 160 miles per hour before they both had to brake hard for the last corner. Waiting at the start/finish line, the crowds cheered at the sight of the two cars as they appeared out of the corner. Bull's Supra looked to be securely in the lead, much to the chagrin on Tej, Jimmy and Rome.

Bull was about to laugh in celebration at the knowledge that the first lap was his when suddenly he heard the rumbling of an engine suddenly pass by him on the left. He looked through his window just in time to see the S15 zoom past him and cross the line before him.

Alex grinned as he watched the Supra became smaller in his rearview mirror. However instead of punching it, Alex stepped on the brakes and pulled back. He let Bull pass him and Alex stepped on the gas again and maneuvered himself behind the Supra's slipstream.

Inside the S15, Suki looked at Alex curiously. Alex simply smirked back.

"That should be something for him to think about," he said.

Suki slowly curved her lips into an understanding smile. She figured out his game now. There was no doubt that Alex was the better driver here and he wasn't about to let that guy, Bull, forget about it. She tightened her harness and sat back for the ride.

In his Supra, Bull just got a hit of the nerves. In all likelihood, he came to the same conclusion that Suki had a second ago. And it showed. His driving seemed to have gotten a little bit more sluggish now though only the keenest person would see it.

Nothing he could do about now but race with all his got and he knew deep in his got it wasn't that much. He powered on through the first two corners and soon both cars were in the wide open space again. Bull was fully expecting Alex to make a move here and Alex entertained that notion well.

Alex made some purposely half-assed attempts to overtake just to see how Bull would react. Predictably enough, the Supra moved in to block in the attempts. He was getting nervous now, thought Alex. He pulled back and let Bull gain a bit of a lead. For the next four corners, the story would be again the same: Bull in the lead and Alex on his tail pipe. Finally they came up to the long quarter mile stretch.

"Alright, now we end this," said Alex.

If Suki wanted to see Alex's skill, she was entreated then and there. Alex popped the clutch, slammed the brakes, shifted gears, turned the wheel, and slammed the gas again, and counter-steered in almost one fluid motion putting the car into an inertia drift, maneuvering the S15 alongside the Supra. The S15 and the Supra were now neck and neck going down the stretch, the S15 matching the Supra's pace. To say Suki was impressed was an understatement.

Bull and Alex came face to face through their open windows. From his expression alone, Alex could tell that Bull was having a very hard time trying to keep his composure. Alex kept a straight face and winked at Bull right pressing a little harder on the gas pedal putting the S15 into a lead of two feet.

That was all it took for Bull to move desperately, and it was also what Alex was counting on. Bull reacted by igniting his nitrous adding about 150 horses to his engine's power output instantly. The Supra zoomed forward and regained the lead. Bull looked at his rearview mirror and watched the S15 grow smaller in the distance. What he didn't see was Alex grinning in satisfaction.

Bull was so preoccupied with keeping his lead that he failed to notice that the final turn at the end of the stretch was less than 400 feet away when he shot his nitrous. When he did realize it he tried to stop by applying both the foot brake and the handbrake simultaneously and tried to turn the car sideways. It wasn't nearly enough.

The Supra went into an uncontrolled spin and ended up hitting the stack of containers which defined the walls of the track at about 60 miles per hour, rear bumper first. The resulting crash completely crumpled the back end of the Supra just shy of the rear axle.

The crowds around the start/finish line watching let out resounding "whoa's" at the sight of the crash. A second later, the crowds cheered as Alex's S15 came out of the corner at high speed and sprinted towards the line. Alex ended the race in some style by sliding the car across the finish line passenger-side first, sending up some smoke from his tires. Almost instantly the Crowd converged on his car.

Inside the S15, Alex turned towards Suki. "So what do you think?"

Suki playfully grinned back. "Well, you got some talent, pizza boy. Where'd you learn to drive like that?"

Alex kept his smile but turned away from her. "Now _that _would be a really long story."

"Maybe you can tell it to me sometimes." Suki then unbuckled herself from the seat and opened the door to let herself out.

Alex let out a chuckle and soon unbuckled his own harness and got out to a cheering crowd. He looked around and looked at all the applauding people around him. It felt good, he told himself. He had almost forgotten what it felt like to win a race:

It felt perfect.

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Author's note: Well this story is going well so far. Next chapter, we'll explore Alex and his car a little bit more. As for Bull well he'll play a bit of a role in this particular story arc. Till then pls. R&R.


	5. Chapter 4

The morning after.

The atmosphere in Tej's Garage was nowhere near as hectic as it was the day before, although Tej did have the stereo on, pumping the garage with some slow hip-hop. It was business as usual. Already many of the regular customers were parked inside and outside there for their regular tune-ups. Saturday usually meant a night of racing afterwards though nothing as big as last night. Last night was of those "Tej specials" that come along every now and then.

Following the events of last night, a tow truck had to be called to pull back Jimmy's wrecked Golf R32 from the docks and back to the garage. After the race which had everybody talking, Alex offered to help with anything involving the Golf. Saturday was his day off after all so it wasn't a problem.

He also offered to chip in some of the money he had won that night in order to fix the Golf. Tej thought that was a little too much generosity as it was and instead offered Alex full use of his garage and the tools inside for his tune-ups. Alex accepted graciously. He loved the opportunity to be able to tune his ride in a professional garage again.

Suki was asked by Tej to take Jimmy to the hospital. The kid looked alright after the crash but Tej didn't want to take chances. Jimmy was like a little brother to him. As for Rome, he went home to his own garage at the other side of town but he did promise to meet with them at the next event which will, in all likelihood, pretty soon.

It was still pretty early in the morning and the only people in the garage were Tej and Alex, the latter lying down on a rolling tray and under the Golf. Tej was standing by on the side.

"How's it looking?" asked Tej.

"Not too bad," said Alex from under the car. "But not too good, either."

Alex slid himself out from under the car and got back onto his feet. He brushed himself off and put down the flashlight he was using on top of a large tool chest.

"The engine block itself is probably fine," said Alex. "The radiator, the intercooler, and the air filter are done though. You're gonna have to replace them completely. The front suspension and the brakes, particularly at the side where the flat was, was heavily damaged and we'll probably have to rip that out and get a new set. The front axle will need some realignment."

"That shouldn't be too hard. I got a few of those parts lying around somewhere. Gonna have to order out them brakes, though."

"What about the body work?"

"I'll manage that."

Tej moved around to the passenger side of the car. The front fender and the door looked crushed but nothing that he couldn't fix. It will take him the better part of the day though and that didn't even include repainting.

"Don't worry," said Alex. "I'll stick around to help out."

"Don't you have other things to do?"

"I…honestly don't. I usually spend my weekends tuning my car. But I finished working on it yesterday and now I don't have anything to do on it until the boost gauges I ordered arrives."

"Well I don't feel real comfortable with you giving me all this help for free, you know? I'm not a charity case."

"Well you could pay me. I could use another part-time job aside from my pizza gig."

Tej chuckled. Alex continued to stare at Tej with a determined look on his face. Tej eventually noticed this and he stopped chuckling.

"You're serious?"

"What? You think my life-long ambition is to deliver pizzas for a Columbian guy with a napoleon complex? I'm not just good at the mechanical stuff, you know. You've seen what I can do behind the wheel. Let me race for you. Plus I'm sure you can use an extra pair of hands around here."

That was something that made Tej curious about Alex. In all his years as an underground race organizer he had never heard of anyone throw down a purse as high as Alex did the night before. Usually for amateur events the purse for a race would be a few hundreds to a grand or two. 2 to 5 grand were usually thrown down for the more advanced guys. Upwards of 10,000 dollars will be put down by the high rollers.

Double or noting rematches were rare, let alone triple or nothing. The bank Alex won that night, 18,000 dollars in cash, was unheard of, at least around Miami. There was also something about the way the kid challenged the guy, as if drawing him into that race. It was stuff like this that made Tej want to know more about Alex but he didn't think this kid would open up to him just yet.

"You mean like the money you won last night?" asked Tej.

"Well, I'll probably won't be racing the stakes that high next time. Besides that was just to work for my advantage."

"How's that?"

"People probably think I'm a chump right now and I was only luck during that last race. Give them a modest bank to bet on and they'll challenge me on the drop of a hat."

Tej thought about this and realized he was right.

"Just give me enough chances to prove myself a bit more," continued Alex.

"I don't think Jimmy will be really cool with this. I mean _he's _supposed to be my racer."

"The kid definitely has talent but he's still green. I can teach him stuff that'll have him eating the competition."

"I'll bet. It's a tempting offer and all…"

"Man, quit playing like you're gonna pass this up. I know that you're a man about your money. You know that with me and Jimmy racing for you we'll rank in more cash than you'll know what to do with."

Both Tej and Alex were quiet for a few moments but both men were smirking with mutual understanding. Alex knew already that things were finally going his way after all this time.

"Alright," said Tej. "We'll see what you can do. I'll go get the new radiator form the back."

"I'll get the tools ready."

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A few hours later.

Suki's pink S2000 came to the front of the garage a little bit after lunch. She and Jimmy ate a little lunch after she picked him up from the hospital. Aside from the bruise on his arm which he got from hitting it at his own door there was no other injury on him. That was good on two fronts. First, that meant that Jimmy was in no critical condition, and second, Suki didn't have to make up a big excuse for Jimmy's street racing activities. She simply said he got into a bar fight with a drunk.

"We're lucky all you got was that bruise on your arm," said Suki. "That crash could've been a lot worse."

"But it wasn't and I'm fine. Stop trippin' already."

"I knew it was a bad idea for you to take a challenge like that."

"I had a flat!"

"That's no excuse. If you were half the driver you were supposed to be back there, you would've checked your car after leaving it like that. You're also lucky that both Alex and Tej think that the Golf can be saved. You're not ready for this."

"Yeah, I am. You'll see in my next race!"

"Which will be a long time from now considering the damage to the Golf. What if Alex wasn't there to do a rematch? That would've been a major loss on Tej's part."

They both got out of the S2000 and Suki lead the way into the garage. Jimmy was a little bit upset. He had all the confidence in the world that he was a good racer. To get this from Suki, who he considers a very good friend, is just frustrating. Jimmy didn't even bother considering the fact that Suki has been racing much longer than he has and surely had some time-tested wisdom in her head.

He was also pretty upset that Suki brought up Alex. Sufficed to say nobody saw him coming. Alex had been delivering pizzas for the garage for just under two week, sometime more than once a day (Tej really liked those meat lover's specials), and in that time he has gotten on friendly terms with all of them. Occasionally he would ask for a chance to prove his driving skills.

Almost every time he said that they all just pretty much passed it off as a joke. After all, the guy can barely deliver a pizza on time! Where the heck did he learn to drive? Well wherever it was it taught lessons well. Last night left everyone no less than very impressed at Alex's skill behind the wheel. While Jimmy himself was pretty amazed, he wasn't too keen on finding out he had such competition on his hands.

Suki came through the front door where the general store was located. There they sold the usual stuff like motor oil, lubricants, belts, windshield wipers, and a myriad of other car accessories. Behind the cashier's desk was one of Suki's girls worked during the day who greeted them as they came in.

"Nice to see you back from the hospital Jimmy," said the cashier girl. "Saw you're nasty crash last night. I'm surprised you can walk."

Jimmy sighed exasperatedly. The cashier girl took this as a sign that she should drop the subject for today. A stern look from Suki confirmed that suspicion.

"Anyway, the Golf's in the back and Tej is already working on it along with that pizza guy."

Both Suki and Jimmy looked a little confused. "Alex is still here?" asked Suki.

"Well, he did mention today was a day off. He's been helping Tej since last night. You guys can go see him if you want."

"Sure."

Suki and Jimmy exchanged brief looks with each other before heading toward the garage are through a door behind the cashier's desk labeled "employees only." The first thing they heard was Tej's music playing in the background. What they didn't notice was Alex's presence or anyone else's for that matter. The garage was empty except for the cars.

"He ain't here," said Jimmy.

Suki swiveled her head around the garage's space. She was inclined to agree with Jimmy until her eye caught something and she did a double take.

"No he's here somewhere," she said.

"What makes you say that?"

Suki nodded towards a car. "That."

Jimmy looked in that direction and found that he was looking at the bright orange Silvia S15 that was now a bit popular among the race goers last night. The ride that was distinctly Alex's. The S15's driver side door was open. Alex was probably doing something to clean the interior or something. Both Suki and Jimmy moved closer to the car to get a better look at it.

Ever since last night Suki has been a bit fascinated by the S15. She only got a taste of the car when she decided to tag along with Alex in that race. She only knew the obvious modifications like the C-west body kit and the NISMO rims. But she also wanted to look at the suspension, the brakes, and especially…

"Pop the hood," she blurted out like an order.

"Who? Me?" responded Jimmy.

"The door's open isn't it? I have to see this."

"You do know this ain't your car, right?"

"That didn't feel like a normal SR20 engine during that race. I have to see what's under the hood."

Jimmy shook his head but eventually went to the driver's side, leaned into the car and found the lever he was looking for. The hood popped up an inch. Suki quickly stepped forward and opened the hood all the way up then prop it on the stand. It was as she expected and at the same time, as she didn't expect and this mixture of feelings showed in her face. Jimmy walked around to see what she was looking at. He also seemed to be pretty surprised at what he was looking at.

Suki was right. The normally SR20DE powered Silvia S15 had clearly undergone an engine swap modification. In place of the usual 2.0L I4 engine was a big 3.5L V6 engine. No wonder Suki felt something weird about the car.

"I thought that engine tone didn't sound right for a S15," said Jimmy.

"Yeah, he actually swapped the old SR20 out for a VQ engine." The tone in her voice pretty much suggested that she was impressed.

"It's a VQ35DE engine too."

"HR," said a voice from the side.

Both Suki and Jimmy quickly turned their heads to find Alex standing there on the side, leaning against a Honda Civic Type-R. He had an entertained look on his face when they realized that he must've been watching them stare in awe at his car for a short while now.

"It's actually a VQ35HR," said Alex.

The VQ35HR was the successor of the VQ35DE which can be found in the popular Nissan 350Z. The 'HR replaced the 'DE during the 2007 year models. The 'HR was a vast improvement over the limitations of the original engine. That said the new engine shared less than 20 percent of its parts with its predecessor. That made the engine very hard to tune since aftermarket parts that worked for the original 350Z didn't work for the new engine.

However tuning this fantastic engine wasn't impossible and Alex managed even that. He installed a Greddy twin turbo kit which was newly developed and specific to the new engine. The kit included new cast-iron exhaust manifolds, turbochargers, wastegates, air filters, twin-core front mounted intercooler, a piggy-back ECU and all the plumbing needed.

Alex also managed to throw in Greddy performance camshaft, high flow fuel injectors and iridium spark plugs for good measure. To complement all the modifications to the engine he also installed NISMO flywheel, limited slip differential, and high performance clutch to the transmission. And just for the heck of it, there was also a NOS direct port nitrous oxide kit mounted in the back in the trunk.

The engine under the hood of his Silvia S15 was now pushing over 700 HP. That's a lot of power for a car that, through some weight shaving, had a curb weight of just a little over 1000 Kilograms. But the engine was just the tip of the iceberg as far as Alex was concerned. In addition to power, he did plenty of modifications to the cars handling abilities to match.

For the suspension, he installed TEIN Type N1 coilover springs, pillowball tension rods, and a performance sway bar. For the brakes, he installed Brembo race compound brake pads, cross-drilled and slotted rotors, and 6 Piston racing calipers. The C-West GT-Type body kit and GT wing did well to make the car more aerodynamic. The cutom-made roll cage made the body more rigid. The aforementioned NISMO rims were wrapped in high performance TOYO tires for high grip.

Everything about the car screamed top performance. The only thing spoiling the theme of performance was the fact that Alex refused to go all the way with stripping his car of unnecessary weight. He had already removed the backseat, floor carpets, and spare tire, replaced the two front seats, the steering wheel and some gauges, but other than that he kept the interior stock, refusing to remove the radio and CD player, the speakers, most of the interior trimmings and the air-conditioning system.

He figured that since this was the only car he owned at the moment he might as well make some small compromises to performance to make the car easier to live with.

Alex spent nearly 3 months and a ton of cash building that car. When he first found it the S15 wasn't even worth a second look but after a long while and a lot of devotion he built a machine that would dominate the streets and then some. It was a shame though that the car would not get a chance to achieve its original purpose for which Alex intended. But it was a great car and Alex loved it nonetheless. Also he had already proved its worth on the regular racing scene in Miami.

Alex would tell Suki and Jimmy about all of this later.

"Nice to see you guys back from the hospital," said Alex. "Nothing serious, right?"

"…Yeah, just a bruise on the arm. Nothing else," replied Suki. "What about you? I'd expected you'd go home by now."

"Nah I expect to be able to at least replace the radiator by the end of the day. And maybe later get a new intercooler when Tej's get's back."

Jimmy smirked. "Man, you act like you work here."

"I do now."

Jimmy's smirk faded. "What?"

"That's right," said Tej's voice from another direction.

The three of them turned to the door leading to the store front. Tej had just came in carrying a cardboard box. Tej turned to Alex and tossed him the box. Alex was caught a little off0guard but managed to grab the box with both arms. He noted that it was a bit heavy.

"There's the new radiator," said Tej.

"I'll get right on it," replied Alex.

With that, Alex disappeared into the back where the Golf R32 was being fixed. Both Suki and Jimmy turned their sights now towards Tej who was fully expecting their looks of curiosity.

"You hired him?" asked Suki.

"Well, I have been a little understaffed since Jose and Alejandro bailed on the shop last month." Note to self, thought Tej, stop hiring Cuban immigrants. The disappear faster than a professional drifter's tires.

"So what, no more pizzas for us?"

"Nah, we both agreed this is part-time work. But the thing is I didn't just hire him for his mechanical skills."

"Then what is he really here for?" asked Jimmy.

"To teach _you_ how to handle your ride."

Jimmy went wide-eyed. "What?! I don't need him!"

"Yes you do, brah."

"No, I don't!"

"Yeah, you do. From what I saw last night you do. Really, Jimmy, if not him then I would've found somebody else. You really ain't that ready for the streets yet. You need training."

Jimmy let out an exasperated sigh. "I can't believe you guys!"

"We don't think you suck, Jimmy," said Suki. "We just think you need a little more work."

"Then why can't I do it on my own? I can just practice on my free time and stuff."

"Jimmy, you can't practice by yourself unless you know the right things to practice. Then you'd be just practicing bad habits and going nowhere. Trust me on this, I've been there. Alex obviously knows how to handle a car and he could teach you a lot, you know."

"So you really think this is what's best?"

"Jimmy…" Tej's tone was now very serious. "Do I have to remind you why _I_ quit racing?"

With that Jimmy was silent. He knew the story well enough. Tej was once a street racer as well but an accident he experience during a race one night forced him to quit the sport. Jimmy remembered that from the start, Tej was never really comfortable with his decision to start racing on his own but e eventually convinced Tej to give him a chance.

He looked back on his few first victories. They were all against amateur racers like him and most of the time his victories seemed to have simply been due to luck. And in almost all his races he was a little bit reckless. He couldn't remember just how many times his Golf R32 narrowly missed lampposts and fire hydrants on the side walk doing over a hundred miles per hour.

"I'm letting you race for me," continued Tej, "but I'm not letting you make _my_ mistake."

Tej left it at that and walked away. Suki had nothing left to say and Jimmy wasn't about to wait for her to come up with something. Jimmy walked away a little dejected. Suki was left standing there with nothing to do.

Suki suddenly found herself being drawn to the Silvia which still had the hood open. She slowly walked closer to it and peered into the engine bay a little deeper. She was quite impressed how the engine didn't look like a swap and looked like it truly belonged there. She caught a glimpse of the two large turbochargers under the engine block. She'll find out about those soon enough.

All this though, as much as it made her praise the car, made her very curious about Alex who up until two weeks ago was a total stranger to her. Now he pops out of nowhere with a car and skills that don't fail to impress, and for her it's rare to be impressed. That worried her.

The last time she was impressed by a white guy with a cool car and slick driving he turned out to be a nationally wanted man with a rap sheet as long as a drag strip. That guy was lucky to be able to get some redemption and now he was half-way around the world. The last Suki heard about him was that he was somewhere in Asia, still racing.

Suki wondered if Alex was the kind of guy to keep a few skeletons in his closet.

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Somewhere else in the city.

In a barely lit garage somewhere near the Florida Keys, Bull and his posse were hard at work. The place they were working in was a fairly large establishment that looked more suited to scraping cars rather than fixing them up. Everywhere you look you would a piece of scrap that came from some kind of car. There were a few cars there that have obviously seen better years.

Among those examples was the busted Toyota Supra with a crushed rear end. Bull had since abandoned that car. No matter, it wasn't his real car anyway. Just something he won off another puck racer in upstate New York. It was of little consequence to him.

This was not the case with what the crew where building. It wasn't done yet but one glance and one could tell that when it would be done it would be something to behold. Bull stepped back and looked at the near finished car he and his crew were working on. He couldn't help but smirk. It was a beautiful sight indeed.

"Whoever you are," he mumbled to himself. "Wherever the hell you came from…This is not over yet. Not by a long shot."

He stared long and hard at his beautiful new 2006 Ford Mustang, tuned to perfection.

"See you soon, pizza guy," he said while letting out a smirk of content.

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Author's note: Sorry about being a little late on this one. I just started on my school's internship program and this last week was mostly me adjusting to a new office environment. Sorry about the lack of action here but I felt I should tone down a bit after the last two chapters.

Oh, and by the way, I'm sure some of you would spot the reference to Brian O'Conner in this chap. What's up with that? Well, let me explain: When Tokyo Drift came out Universal also released a PS2 game based on the movie. In that game you can race against characters from the movie. That included Brian who, according to the game, had to flee to Japan after "the heat in Miami got too much."

And because I have yet to see the 4th movie I'm gonna stick to that little tidbit as the primary explanation of Brian's absence in this story for the moment. However I do plan to cast Brian in a later story arc where he will have a major role.


	6. Chapter 5

On a long stretch of abandoned road.

The roar of engines ruled the night air. Taking place was your run-of-the-mill drag race with whoever crosses the finish line first wins. The race was already halfway through with a white Honda Civic SiR Coupe in the lead, its exhaust pipe spitting out blue and red flames from the nitrous oxide.

Not far behind was Rome's candy purple '72 Plymouth 'Cuda. In the driver's seat, Rome was nowhere near nervous as he watched the Civic inch away from him.

"It's not gonna be that easy, dude," he mumbled as he shifted into fifth.

The speedometer spiked as the classic car accelerated pass 150 miles per hour and easily passed the civic just in time to cross the finish line first. At the finish line a crowd was waiting and cheering for the winner, Rome. Being the showman as always Rome performed a couple of donuts much to the enjoyment of the crowd. He stopped his car long enough to open the door, step out, and raise his hand in victory.

The crowds cheered him on. He then proceeded to collect his well deserved bank from his beaten opponent in the Civic. The cash was 2500 dollars worth.

"Better luck next time, chief," said Rome.

The other driver just nodded it off and slowly drove away, not offering any other reply. Rome stayed to enjoy his limelight a bit before he too had to drive away for them to get the next set of racers ready.

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Along the boulevard.

Even though it was way past most of their bedtimes, the people that gathered in the area didn't have an ounce of concern over sleep. The place was alive with the glare of neon lights and the sound of hip-hop and techno as beats were blasted out of speakers from the surrounding cars. On a large parking lot, these people gathered along with their tricked out cars to show off.

Rome drove slowly across the parking lot admiring the cars and the woman who decided that the night was too hot to wear anything conservative. As Rome was driving around he noticed somebody among the crowds he recognized from the other night.

A few feet away was Alex, standing in front of his orange Silvia S15 chatting with a few girls who were apparently interested in his car. Alex was just ending the conversation and waving the girls off as they headed off to find better company. That's when Alex himself noticed Rome's purple 'Cuda pull up right next to him. He recognized the driver when he stepped out as the guy Tej was hanging out with during Jimmy's race. He couldn't help but admire the smooth revving of the 'Cuda's engine.

"You're that dude who won that race last night, right?" asked Rome.

"Which one?"

"The one everybody's been talking about."

Alex smirked. "You know Tej, right? You guys tight?"

"Yeah. Which is why I'm a little curious about you. You see, I gave him a call a while ago and he mentioned he hired a new guy to help around the garage."

Alex chuckled. "Is that right? Of course I don't think I'm something to brag about, though."

Kid's got a sense of humor, thought Rome. He could see getting along with him a bit. Though he was still a stranger to Rome. He had seen Alex once before. Last week he was hanging out with Tej and the gang at their place when he delivered a pizza to them. That meeting was brief and left no lasting impression on Rome. Now he wanted to know more about this kid…and of course his car.

"That your ride?" asked Rome, pointing to the S15.

"Yup," replied Alex, "she's my baby."

Rome extended a hand. "Name's Roman Pearce."

Alex took it. "Alex Cooper."

Rome nodded towards the car. "Mind If I take a look?"

"Nope." Alex then moved to his door, opened it, reached inside and popped the hood knowing that was what Rome wanted to see.

Rome went on ahead and popped open the hood of the S15 and looked inside. He let out a long whistle making it obvious to Alex that he was impressed.

"Engine swap huh?" said Rome.

"Well, when I found this car the original engine was trashed beyond hope," said Alex. "But hey, I got a good deal out of the body. I wanted to build something new so I got the idea of putting a hot new V6 in there and tuning her up just right."

"How many horses is she running?"

"Last time I checked, around 720."

Rome turned to Alex in some disbelief. "No shit?"

Alex smirked. He loves it when he gets that kind of reaction. "Don't believe me? Why don't I show you on the blacktop?"

Rome smirked back. This kid was serious about his ride and now way would he doubt his word about his car after seeing his performance at the port. Although Rome was tempted on the offer as he too wanted to see firsthand just how good Alex was.

But that was the old Rome, spontaneous, hotheaded, and more often than not reckless. That sort of lifestyle got him into a lot of trouble all the way up to Barstow. Of course a chance meeting with an old friend changed his way of thinking and now he has noticeably matured since those old days.

"How about your ride?" asked Alex. "From what I can hear, it sounds like a Hemi."

"Who did you hear that from?"

"Nobody. I heard it right here."

Alex walked towards the 'Cuda and stood in front of it with his eyes closed. Rome raised an eyebrow in curiosity towards Alex. Alex just stood there seemingly doing nothing and after a few seconds he opened his eyes again and spoke.

"Definitely a Hemi," he said. "V8 crate engine with a custom exhaust. Sounds like you even put in a new carburetor. From the way she revs, I'm guessing she's pulling about 600 or so horses at the rear wheels. She sounds smooth. Did you just overhaul her?"

Rome was impressed. "You can tell all that by just listening."

"Every engine has its own sound unique to it. That sound boils down to all the different parts in the engine and the way each individual driver tunes their machines. You can tell a lot by a man's machine by the way it sounds. You just have to listen close enough, you know. From the smooth high pitch straight four, the rhythmic buzz of a straight six, to the low rumble of a big V8, heck even the puttering of a good 'ol diesel."

"You know a lot about cars, don't you?"

"I practically grew up around cars. I learned all the sounds that way."

"They all sound the same to me."

"You just need to get to know your machine a bit more. There's actually a lot more you can do to your ride."

"Didn't think you were into American muscle."

"Well my forte is import tuners but I've always had a soft spot for all the classic V8's. And besides, there really isn't any way to deny that this is a pretty sweet ride. How'd you get it?"

"Got her for a good deal from a dealer in Haiti. Took me a couple of months to fix her up but she's worth it. And thanks to her I've been making up the money I spent on her in spades, man."

"Oh, I don't doubt that. I've seen you race."

As the conversation went on, the two were suddenly distracted when the crowd near them started cheering a little louder. They looked in the direction of the noise. Coming slowly across the black tarmac of the parking lot towards Rome and Alex was a pair of cars. Alex looked curiously at the two tuners while Rome looked away, annoyed.

"Aww, crap," said Rome. "Not them again."

"Them?"

The two cars stopped close to Rome and Alex where Alex was able to get a better look at them. Both cars were Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution models. One was an Evo 7 with a predominantly black paint job with bright red stripes and tear graphics running across the side and the hood. The other was an Evo 8 with a predominantly red paint job with dark black stripes and tear graphics running across the side and the hood. Both cars sported Bomex body kits and carbon fiber GT wings. Both cars had aftermarket product stickers all over the body.

From the sound alone, Alex could tell that both cars were moderately tuned with some new single turbo kits that probably bumped up the power of those engines by a significant amount. Alex also got a glimpse of the brakes and a bit of the suspension behind this big 19" chrome rims. No doubt, these cars mean business.

No sooner had Alex thought that was when the drivers of these two cars exited their vehicles and showed themselves to the crowed. The guy from the Evo 8 was Latin-American with a crew cut hair style dressed in jeans, shirt, and black leather jacket. The other guy from the Evo 7 was white with short black hair gelled to look like a porcupine's back and dressed simply in jeans and a white t-shirt and was eating an apple.

"Roman Pearce!" called out the guy in the leather jacket. "We're calling you out."

Roman looked towards them with an expression of both boredom and annoyance. "It's a nice night out, why don't go and have a drink or something?"

The Evo 8 driver looked annoyed. "We came here to race. man!"

"Well I'm done for tonight. Maybe some other time."

"No way! What Are you scared now?"

"Scared? Of you? Please!"

Alex looked towards Rome curiously. "Friends of yours?" he asked.

"A couple of chumps I dusted a few times. They're the ones who paid for the new carburetor."

"Ohhhh."

The Evo drivers were visibly getting pissed off. "Hey! We're calling you out to a race!"

"And I said I'm not in the mood. Get lost."

As Rome turned his back from the Evo drivers the Evo 7 driver suddenly reeled back his hand with his half-eaten apple and let the piece of fruit fly fast towards Rome's car. It hit the side mirror on the driver's side, breaking the mirror. That definitely got Rome's attention. The crowd started "ooohing" at the sudden turn of events. Alex was a bit surprised himself but in his head he could already see the chain of events happening and it wasn't gonna turn out in Rome's favor.

Rome, pissed off beyond reason, slowly turned back around to face the two Evo drivers who were both grinning. "Do we have your attention now, _homeboy?_"

Rome started to walk towards the two Evo 8 driver and got up to his face. "You wanna loose that badly?"

"We played by your rules the first two times but it's our turn to decide on the rules."

"Have it your way. What the set-up?"

"Two laps around this area. I'm sure you know the place enough. The bid for each racer is 45 large."

"Fine."

At this point Alex had stepped forward. "So what, you guys are gonna race two against one?" he said. "That pretty damn fair."

The Evo drivers and Rome turned their attention towards Alex who stood resilient. Murmurs from the crowed started spreading, a few people recognizing him from last night's escapade. The Evo 7 driver quickly walked up to Alex and got up his face but Alex kept his ground.

"You got something to say, boy?" asked the Evo 7 driver.

"Yeah I do," Alex moved closer to the guy.

The crowds fell silent as the tension between Alex and the Evo 7 driver built up. Alex remained resilient throughout the whole time the Evo driver was staring daggers at him. There was silence for a few seconds before Alex broke it.

"Who the hell throws a damn apple?" he said. "Seriously?"

Some people in the crowd started snickering. The Evo 7 driver was visibly at a loss for words while Alex smirked. Alex turned away from the Evo 7 driver and turned towards the Evo 8 driver. "You guys got balls, you know, ganging up on him like that."

There was obvious tension between Alex Rome and the two Evo drivers. For their Part Rome and Alex weren't under any pressure but their opposites were crumbling under it. In that time Rome was flashing Alex a "what do you think you're doing?" look while Alex gave a "trust me on this" wink back at him. At some point someone from the crowd shouted "tag team match!" which caught the attention of everyone. The Evo drivers were caught off guard. Alex looked like this was exactly what he was expecting.

Looks like tonight won't be as dull as he originally expected.

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Here was how it was gonna go down:

Each driver will drive one lap around the designated race course. The second driver will wait at the start/finish line for his partner to cross before they can drive off. First team to have both drivers complete one lap each around the course is the winner and will receive the purse of 9000 dollars (4500 buy-in for each driver).

The course is the area around the parking lot and the building next door. Racers will start at a spot part-way down the longest stretch of the course. From the start, it is a 500 ft dash to the first corner which is a sharp right followed by a short dash around 300 ft long and a very long, easy right turn that will come out to a long straight a little over 250 yards long which snakes a bit throughout. The stretch will end at a sharp 45 degree angle right turn. After that it's a long dash back to the start/finish line.

The roads that would intersect the course were already closed off with face road work signs to ensure no interruptions as well as minimize any possible civilian harm. Everything was ready. The first two to go was Alex in his Silvia S15 and the driver in the Evo 7. Waiting on the side was Rome in his Plymouth 'Cuda and the driver in the Evo 8.

From out of the crowd the young lady stepped out onto the middle of the road a few feet in front of the two cars. She raised one hand and pointed towards the Evo 7 driver who nodded back. She raised the other hand and pointed to Alex who also nodded back. Then she raised her hands up into the air to the cheer of the crowds..

"Here we go," she said then dropped her hands. The racers were off.

The Evo 7 took an early lead with its 4WD system but it didn't take long for the S15's own power and torque to catch up. The two cars were neck and neck through the first stretch but approaching the first corner the S15 pulled back a bit and pulled to the outside.

The Evo 7 driver took a wide arc across the outside of the corner. Alex was anticipating this. He quickly downshifted and sharply turned the S15 towards the inside and took the lead of the race at the apex. He wasn't planning on analyzing this guy like he did Bull. Bull was on a way higher level than these Evo drivers. He could tell easily by the way the presented themselves.

Alex punched the gas and rocketed down the short stretch and eased into the long easy right that followed. The Evo was behind by about two car lengths but that Gap was steadily growing. Going into the next stretch Alex let loose on the gas and revved high on forth gear. By the time he shifted up to fifth, Alex was halfway down the stretch and the Evo 7 was five car lengths behind.

"Any second now," mumbled Alex to himself.

The Evo 7 suddenly gained a burst of speed. Anybody watching from behind would easily be able to see bright blue and yellow flames spraying out the Evo's muffler and the nitrous oxide being fed into the engine burned cleanly. The Evo started to gain fast on the S15.

"Yup, there it is," said Alex.

He briefly considered using his own nitrous kit but decided against it. He wouldn't need it and it would be a shame to waste it. Plus the Evo driver made a mistake of firing up his nitrous so close to the next corner which is also the sharpest in the race.

Alex approached the corner without thinking about his opponent. He hit the brakes and shifted two gears down to 3rd. He drove towards the outside and attacked the corner at a deep angle almost hitting the apex. He applied gas coming out of the corner and produced white smoke from his tires much to the enjoyment of the crowds that were watching close by. Alex came out of the corner smoothly, shifting back up to 4th gear.

The Evo 7 had problems though. It came in too fast as a result of the driver's desperate attempt to take the lead. The Evo 7 driver had to brake hard to fight all that momentum he built. He tried to salvage his run by the time he got to the corner but not even the Evo's renowned 4WD system could save him now. He went wide around the corner and the ground he gained with the nitrous was lost coming down the final straight.

This run belonged to Alex.

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At the start/finish line.

The 'Cuda and the Evo 8 weren't exactly on the line but waiting on the side a little ways behind it, parked right up against the curb, perpendicular to the road. The Evo 8 was closer to the line and the 'Cuda about six feet to the side. During their wait, both drivers have been giving each other hostile stares.

Suddenly they both heard engines and son the crowd started cheering as well. In the distance they could see the S15's headlights approaching and Evo 7's own headlights way behind. It was clear the Evo 7 was not gonna catch up and would hit the line at least a couple of seconds behind the S15. Rome smirked in satisfaction when he realized this. The Evo 7 driver got irked.

"See you later, _esse_!" exclaimed Rome.

Rome went ahead and revved his engine. That huge Hemi V8 roared to life just as the S15 crossed the line at full speed. Rome stepped on the gas and smoked his rear tires from the wheelspin as he started to drive away. The now very irked Evo 8 driver wouldn't stand for it.

"No way, man," he said. "Not this time."

He stepped on his gas pedal too, inching the Evo 8 forward just as Rome was leaving his spot. The Evo 8's front bumper managed to nick the rear fender of the 'Cuda. Barely anyone from the crowd noticed this move but Rome sure did. The little nudge coupled with his excessive wheelspin gave the car a massive dose of oversteer. Rome struggled to keep his car in control as he fishtailed near the line. In that time, the Evo 7 had crossed the line and that gave the Evo 8 enough permission to drive off and start his run.

"How do you like that, _homeboy_?!"

The Evo 8 easily took the lead and expanded it to a full five seconds by the time Rome straightened out his car.

"Shit!" he cursed.

The 'Cuda finally got its act together and drove off after the Evo 8 but not without leaving a worried Alex behind. He saw that little move the Evo 8 driver did. He would just love to tell everyone about it but he knew there was no way he could prove it. He underestimated them. All he could do now was hope that Rome could finish the job and win this race.

Coming into the first corner, the Evo 8 driver took every technological advantage his car had against his opponent. The Evo 8 may not have the sheer muscle of the 'Cuda but it had 4WD, ABS, Traction control, VVT and then some. They knew that they could not beat the Cuda on a high speed course or a drag race (as were the previous cases) so they opted to take on Rome in this short circuit race. The only real problem was that Silvia driver that butted in. But that was in the past now. He was in the lead and his opponent wasn't gonna catch up. This race was gonna be theirs, he could feel it.

The Evo 8 took that corner smoothly and rocketed off a few seconds later the 'Cuda approached. Inside Rome was irked at his lousy start but wasn't all that worried. He saw this kind of battle coming and he was prepared for it.

"Let me show a little something I picked up from Suki," he said.

Approaching the corner, Rome moved to the outside and turned sharply towards the corner. He let off the gas a bit as he continued to turn into the corner and suddenly pulled the handbrake for only a second before dropping it back down and punching the gas and applying counter-steer. This put the muscle car into the classic handbrake drift and allowed the 'Cuda to smoothly navigate the corner at high speed.

The crowds watching cheered loudly at the spectacle. The Evo driver heard and looked at his rearview mirror and was surprised to see the headlights of the 'Cuda growing progressively brighter. He checked his speedometer and couldn't believe Rome was catching up to him so quickly. He had expected Rome to take some time at the first corner.

Rome punched the gas and gained on the Evo 8 all throughout the easy curving stretch leading to the final hairpin corner of the course. The Evo 8 handled well but could not put down that much power on the tarmac. His car may have been packing a little over 450 horsepower but his car was heavy having not yet gone though any sort of weight-shaving procedures and that power had to be shared by four separate wheels.

Rome's car was a different story. He knew the limitations of his car and did a lot to fix those limitations. He learned a bit of drifting from Suki who was an amateur drifter herself because he recognized how drifting on some courses can help him handle corners well without loosing much speed. He also spent a lot of time tuning his specially ordered KYB performance shocks to ensure as much grip from the tires which themselves were high performance tires from Falken.

"Don't think it's that easy," he said.

Close to the last hairpin turn, the 'Cuda had caught up with the Evo 8 and they were neck and neck. The two cars drove side by side with the Evo 8 on the inside lane and the 'Cuda on the outside lane coming into the last corner but it was clear that the 'Cuda was slowly gaining ground. The Evo driver noticed this and got nervous. That nervousness led to desperation.

"Oh, hell no!" he exclaimed right before sharply turning the Evo left to try and intersect Rome.

But the Evo driver was unlucky in the timing. They had already reached the final corner and Rome braked hard in preparation for a sharp turn. The Evo 8 missed the 'Cuda entirely and by the time the Evo 8 driver had realized his mistake and started to correct it, it was too late. Rome had already cleared the Apex and punched the gas putting the 'Cuda into a powerslide right before straightening out and shooting forwards towards the finish line.

The Evo 8 overcompensated for its mistake and spun-out at the corner, dashing whatever chance the Evo driver had at winning.

Moments later Rome's 'Cuda sailed across the finish line into the cheers of the crowds. In classic Rome fashion he did a few victory donuts on the spot as an after-show treat for the fans. On the sideline Alex couldn't help but be entertained at how big a show-off this guy was. No wonder Tej liked him.

Rome stopped spinning around, stepped out, stood atop his hood and with his arms spread out and pointing to the surrounding people yelled out: "Whose house is this?!"

And the crowd replied "ROME'S!!"

"That's right!"

Rome stepped down and walked towards Alex who was parked nearby. Alex had a smirk on his face which made it clear he somewhat enjoyed Rome's little spectacle.

"Almost had me worried there," he said to Rome.

"Yeah, well it takes more than that."

"No doubt about that. Nice driving, man."

Rome extended his hand again. "You too, pizza boy."

Alex smiled and took the hand. The two men shared a firm handshake. After that night, Rome was pretty sure he and Alex were gonna get along just fine.

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Author's note: Not much to say for this chapter. I just wanted to something that would give a chance for Rome and Alex to bond a bit more. This should do fine. More hot racing action next chapter…maybe.


	7. Chapter 6

Late afternoon, somewhere in Miami.

Behind some old and disused warehouses, Jimmy's Golf R32 was screaming down the pavement. He went down one stretch in between two large warehouses and made a sharp left as he came out. He then drove down the back of the warehouse and made another sharp left as he reached the corner and drove back down the length of the warehouse as fast as he could.

When he reached the end he made right, drove down the front of the warehouse, made another right to drive down its length, and started the same process all over again.

What Jimmy was doing was essentially using a row of three warehouses as a very big slalom course where he would drive around the warehouses by driving in and out between the large structures. Upon reaching the last warehouse he would simply go back in the reverse direction.

By the time he finished one lap he would hit the stopwatch that's been hanging from his rearview mirror. He looked at the time. It read 1:15:49.

"Dammit!" he cursed in apparent disappointment.

Jimmy repositioned his car at his designated starting position which was basically a huge oil stain on the ground left by some truck in the past. He restarted the stopwatch and tried again, going from 0 to 60 in about 4.5 seconds. He had to get better.

It has been a couple of weeks since the incident of Jimmy's crash at his failed race at the docks. In that time Alex has gotten used to doing some work at Tej's garage for those few days a week he has of free time. In that time span, Alex had gotten in good relations with most of the Racers in the scene and he himself has been receiving some attention, developing a reputation with a few wins under his belt. Tej and he got along well despite Tej's early reservations about him. Suki and Alex were getting along the most. Jimmy on the other hand was having a lousy time coping with Alex's presence.

Alex could understand this. He knew Jimmy was extremely eager to prove himself as a top level street racer while everybody else knew otherwise. Alex could relate. He's been down that road before and he knew from his own experience that Jimmy was still a long ways away from being recognized.

Jimmy didn't like the fact that Alex was his assigned tutor. He knew how to drive and didn't need a pizza boy to show him how. Alex's response to that was typical dismissal of the notion. Alex told Jimmy he wanted him to prove he was the better driver on the road.

And so followed several days of Jimmy giving challenge after challenge to best Alex in a race and Alex always accepted, whether it be a straight up drag race or a more complicated circuit race. And every single time, Alex won the challenges. It was soon clear that Jimmy and his car was nowhere near the level Alex was and to much of Tej's frustrated insisting Jimmy resigned himself to be under Alex's tutelage.

Speaking of which, Jimmy's car was fixed and as good as new. Also, at Alex's suggestion they adjusted the suspension a bit because according to him, Jimmy's aggressive driving style wasn't matched for soft springs. Jimmy was none too pleased about this but they did it nonetheless and Jimmy's performance has in fact improved slightly.

But this was less than what Jimmy wanted. As he finished what would be his third lap around this course he looked at the stopwatch that was still running. He was two corners away from finishing the lap but by then the timer was already at 1 minute and ten seconds. He wasn't gonna beat his time.

"Dammit!" he cursed again.

As he stopped at his oil stain starting point, he slapped his wheel in frustration. He stepped out of his car to try and get some air and after a few breaths he was a little bit calmer but not by much. However he was calm enough to finally notice he wasn't alone. Standing a short distance away from his were Alex and Suki and behind them were their respective cars. Jimmy was not pleased.

"What are you guys doing here?" he asked.

"Well I am supposed to be the guy helping you get better at racing, aren't I?" replied Alex.

"I don't need your help."

"That's not what we think," said Suki holding up a stopwatch. "Not from where we're standing."

"You timed me?!"

"Well, just that last run. I mean we did just get here. By the way, that was 1 minute 17 seconds on my time."

Jimmy turned his head away and gave a curse under his breath. He was cursing a lot today, he thought.

"Was that better than your last run?" asked Suki.

Jimmy didn't answer.

Alex sighed. "I'll take that as a 'no'."

Alex then walked towards Jimmy's Golf and moved around to the passenger side and opened the door. Jimmy raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Dude, what are you doing?" asked Jimmy.

"You're going for another run and I'll be there the whole way. I wanna see how you handle this ride. Then after that maybe we can help you out a bit with your driving."

"I said I don't need your--"

"Prove it, then. You keep telling me that but you never show an ounce of progress. Show me right here and now that you really don't need my help or is all that just hot air?"

With that Alex climbed into the passenger seat and closed his door. Jimmy stood a little dumbfounded for a moment before frustratingly climbing into the driver seat. Inside, they both buckled up and Jimmy restarted the engine.

Alex took this time to explore the interior of the Golf. Aside from the two bucket seats, sports steering wheel and sports gauges bolted to the center of the dashboard, the interior pretty much looked stock.

"You should think about removing that back seat," said Alex.

"Huh? Why?" asked Jimmy.

"The advantages of a hatchback are its low profile, compact size, and light weight. What hatchbacks lack in power they make up for in maneuverability. That back seat is costing you about 45 pounds of weight handicap. Something you can do without."

"I put enough mods under the hood to compensate for that."

"Okay, now it's things like that that make me think you're not a real racer yet."

Jimmy sharply turned his head. "What?!"

"If you want to reach for the top you have to be willing to make all the compromises necessary. You have to go all the way otherwise there will always be a limit to how fast you can go. And the only one setting that limit is you yourself."

There was a moment of silent as Alex let Jimmy digest those words. Jimmy thought about it deeply. Alex eventually took the stopwatch that was hanging off the rearview mirror and reset it. "Okay, now show me what you've got," said Alex.

Jimmy gave Alex one last look before turning his eyes dead ahead. He revved his engine once, twice, then with practiced speed, kicked the clutch, shifted to first gear and shot off. Alex started the time at the exact moment the Golf started moving.

With Alex in the passenger seat, Jimmy seemed to have been motivated a bit more than his previous runs His turns were a little faster, a little more aggressive. His shifting became quicker and there was already an obvious improvement over his previous three runs. Alex watched closely as Jimmy drove with all he had. Alex noted Jimmy's body language, the way he shifted gears, the way he looked at the road ahead, and the way his moves were linked. And then that's when he clearly saw the kid's weakness.

Alex had seen this type of thing before. This was common among rookie racers, professional or otherwise and it is often overlooked. Alex himself went through a similar period in his younger days but unlike Jimmy he knew enough to spend enough time ironing out that little bad habit of his before attempting to race with anyone. But al least now, he knew what to deal with in Jimmy's case.

By time the stopwatch reached the one minute mark, Jimmy was already in the last two turns. When he reached the designated starting point and Alex stopped the stopwatch, the time read 1:10:58. Considering his past times this was a considerable improvement.

Both Jimmy and Alex stepped out of the car. Jimmy was visibly pleased as he could tell that his run was better than all the previous ones. Alex kept a straight face not indicating whether he was impressed or disappointed though the latter case is unlikely. Suki walked up to them.

"How was it?" she asked.

"Perfect!" said Jimmy then he turned to Alex. "So what you gotta say now, dude?"

Alex looked up with a slightly humored smirk. "Perfect? Please. If you knew what you were doing this time would be way less than this. Well at least I figured out what your problem is."

Jimmy lost his pleased look. "Problem? What problem, man?"

"You think too much."

There was another short silence. Jimmy looked at Alex like he was looking a mental patient. Suki herself looked a bit confused.

"You want me to explain?" asked Alex.

"Yes," said both Jimmy and Suki at the same time.

"When you see a corner what do you do? You step on the brake, you kick the clutch, shift down a gear or two, turn the wheel, apply a little power at the apex, straighten out the wheel, counter-steer if you have to, and power over as you go out, and shift back up a gear."

"Are you telling me all that's not supposed to happen?

"No, that's supposed to happen alright. But you're not supposed to be thinking about them as you make the turn. When you see a corner, you turn around that corner. Period."

"You're not making sense, dude."

"No, Jimmy, he is," said Suki, grabbing their attention. "I think I know what Alex is getting at."

"What is it then?"

"Forgive me this is gonna sound a little feng shui-ish but the thing is Jimmy you're not…one with your car."

"…Huh?"

"You know that saying," continued Alex, "it takes 43 muscles to frown but only 17 to smile? But when you smile or frown do you actually think about moving every single one of those muscles, Jimmy? No. They just happen. When you want to smile or frown you just do it. The same thing should applied to your car. In a race, the driver and the car are one entity, each one useless without the other. The car acts as an extension of the driver and the driver makes the car a whole. That means when you make a turn, it just happens. All that braking, shifting, turning of the wheel, all of that _just happens_ when the driver and the car turn. You don't have to think about it."

"And when that happens, Jimmy," said Suki, "you'll be much faster than you are now."

Jimmy didn't reply immediately. He contemplated what he was told and Alex let him. This is something he definitely needed to learn.

"How am I gonna fix that?" Jimmy finally asked.

"Usually, it's just through strict training. You have to get used to the way you drive and the way your car runs."

"Wait. Get used to the way I drive?"

"Every driver has their own unique way of driving. Some like to punch the gas a lot. Some like smooth turning instead of those crazy powerslides. It's like the way you walk. No two people are ever completely alike. Same with your car. You tuned it so you know her capabilities. You need to adapt your ride to your technique so that you can be in perfect harmony. That's the essence of a real race car driver."

"How long is that gonna take."

"Most professionals go through months, even a year or so, of training before they ever see a professional race. We don't really have that much time but with you it might not be that big a problem. You're already pretty proficient in the fundamentals and as I've said before you really have a knack for this."

"I see…"

Alex smirked a bit. "Relax, dude. We'll make a real racer out of you soon enough."

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Tej's garage.

Various mechanics were working on various cars for various reasons. Some were there for the simple regular check-ups and tune-ups while some were being modified. Tej was among the many mechanics who were working on stuff. He was busy tuning-up one of his own trucks by changing the oil.

Tej has always been the mechanic at heart. He tried racing but that didn't go so well and he simply retired to doing the backstage work. His smarts and management skills make him the perfect organizer for any event and that is what truly makes the man to know in Miami. But when he wasn't at an event he was here in the shop, going back to his roots.

At some point during his work he heard the noises of familiar engines. Regular customers of his whom he identified the moment he saw their cars. That bright tan Toyota Supra that belonged to Slap Jack and that bright red Mazda RX-7 which belonged to Orange Julius or OJ for short. Both cars rolled in though the big front entrance which was left wide open. Both cars found some ample parking space on the middle of the floor. Tej stopped working and moved over to meet his friends as they got out of their cars.

As usual Slap Jack had his girlfriend with him. Even from a distance, Tej could easily tell that Slap Jack was irked by something.

"Yo, Slap, OJ. What's up?" greeted Tej.

"Not my bank account, that's for damn sure!" replied Slap Jack, before slamming his door shut in frustration. His girlfriend was nice enough to move over to him and provide some comfort.

"What's your deal, man?"

OJ walked up to them. "Don't worry about him _esse_. He's just upset some _vato_ broke his recent winning streak. And he broke it in a bad way."

"Really?"

"Some fool in a mustang pulled a fast one on my ass," said Slap Jack.

"Mustang?"

"We think it's someone you know, so we wanna ask you about him."

"Actually, more like it someone who is known by someone you know, _esse_," added OJ. "It's that _vato_ in the red Supra that beat your boy, Jimmy, some time ago."

Tej didn't anymore description other than that. He knew who they were talking about. "Wait a minute. "Bull? He's back?"

"And he's been taking out any fool who's challenged him."

"I thought he quit after what Alex did to him."

"Quit? No way. More like he's looking for payback. He's been hunting down that boy all this time now tellin' everybody that he'll leave him in the dust the next time he races."

"In that crappy-ass Supra of his?"

"No. Like we said, _esse_, he's whellin' a mustang now."

"And that car means business, man," said Slap Jack. "I mean when he and I went against each other, I thought it was gonna be crappy too. Just another ricer. But, man, he's got serious power under that hood. He must've done a quarter mile in like nine, maybe eight seconds, man."

"That thing can handle too," said OJ. "Just last night he beat Joaquin on a lot somewhere."

"He beat Joaquin?" asked Tej, clearly unbelieving.

"Yeah. Looks like that graveyard shift fell on the wrong day of the week."

"And now he's gunning for Alex."

"That's what we wanted to talk about. Where is he anyway? He's usually here, ain't he?"

"He's out with Jimmy and Suki right now. I asked him to teach Jimmy some skills in racing. I got worried for the boy."

"Hmph, thought so. Yeah, that boy does need improvement."

"So, whatcha gonna do about this, brah?" asked Slap Jack.

Tej didn't answer immediately. He thought about it for a moment. Bull was back and he was going for a major comeback. If these two were telling the truth then Bull can shape up to be a real threat. He's got a new car now as well and Tej can only assume that after the debacle at the docks he would put some serious time into a ride which he knows he can invest in. Looks he did just that.

He'll be most likely gunning for Alex, the person who soiled him and left him just a little humiliated. While Alex's skill was not in question, Tej was worried about Bull. He had shown some skill back then and it was only his temper and nerves that got the better of him during their last encounter. What now? Nobody walks away from an ordeal like that without getting a little smarter. He won't be caught with his pants down again that's for sure.

"I'll have to talk to Alex about this," said Tej.

Tej fished a cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Alex's number. His personal number not the Pizza place's. Alex answered after a few rings.

"Hey, man," greeted Tej. "There's something we need to discuss."

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Somewhere else in Miami.

In along and nearly abandoned stretch of road right alongside the coast, there were a few passersby on the sidewalk enjoying the afternoon breeze For the moment the lone car on the road was very indiscreet dark blue Ferrari F355 F1 Spyder. It had the top down and inside was a cocky looking rich boy and his prissy girlfriend in designer clothing. Hip-hop music was blaring from the inside.

As the F355 stopped at a stop light that just switched to red, an old passerby, looked towards the car and showed disapproval at the loud music that was obviously ruining his day. However that F355 would soon be beat.

A few seconds later, another car appeared from out of nowhere and the only indication that it was coming was a loud engine tone and even louder heavy metal music that was coming from its open windows. The F355 driver and his girlfriend turned to see the car as it pulled up alongside them at the stop light.

Alongside the Ferrari pulled up a dark, gun metal gray, '06 Ford Mustang GT sporting a ROUSH body kit complete with a front bumper, rear bumper, side skirt, rear wing and a hood scoop feeding air into a highly tuned ROUSH 511SRFE engine.

The engine was a heavily tuned Shelby aluminum block that received the full treatment in performance enhancements and parts that turned into a 600 hp monster of an engine. The wheels were 18" chromed out GT4 wheels covered in performance Falken tires. The car had high-performance dampers, springs, struts, and sway bars courtesy of Ford Racing and the high-performance brakes were from Brembo.

The gun metal gray paint was accented by matte black graphics which were further accented with bright red pinstripes outlining the graphics. Long racing strips that ran down the front bumper, the hood, the roof, the trunk and the rear bumper. On the side looked like traditional racing stripes but were broken in the middle where the doors were by a large silhouette of a flaming skull was drawn.

Inside, sitting in a Recaro racing seat was Bull who was bobbing his head to his music. He looked mildly annoyed when the Ferrari revved its engines and disturbed his rhythm. He looked to the side and saw the rich boy driver grinning at him. His girlfriend didn't look to pleased however.

"Hey buddy," said the Ferrari guy. "What's the retail on one of those?"

Bull remained silent. The Ferrari guy continued to simply rev his engine even more. When the light turned green the Ferrari took off at full speed leaving the Mustang behind at the stop light. The Ferrari guy watched as the Mustang got smaller and smaller on his rearview mirror and felt proud about himself.

He looked towards his girlfriend which didn't seem as thrilled. He then looked back at the mirror and was caught off-guard when the Mustang was suddenly on top of him, its engine roaring like a wild beast. He was similarly caught off-guard when the Mustang quickly switched lanes and passed his Ferrari. When the Mustang swerved back to the same lane, the Ferrari guy had to slam on the brakes.

The Ferrari's tires smoked and the whole car spun out. The Mustang continued on and disappeared in the road ahead leaving the spun out F355 with its passengers breathing heavily.

"Okay, first it was those two guys back in LA," said the girlfriend, "then there was that kid in a hatch just over a month ago and now this. Are we gonna do this every time you meet one of those tuner folks?!"

Meanwhile, cruising at over 140 miles per hour, Bull was grinning in his seat.

"Yeah, you see that? He said to himself. "That's what you gonna get for messing with me, pizza boy. Just you wait."

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Author's note: Some minor racing action here and more to come in future chapters. In case you haven't figured it out yet, the Ferrari guy is supposed to be the same guy from the first movie who Brian smoked in the newly tuned Supra. I might keep him around just for the occasional comic relief.


	8. Chapter 7

Tej's Garage, sometime later that night.

"Is that so?" said Alex.

Alex and Tej were standing by his car in the middle of the floor. They were, at the time, the only people on the garage floor as it was already past quitting time. Suki had gone home and Jimmy has gone to bed after a grueling day of practice. Tej took this opportunity to get Alex on the side and discuss the situation about Bull.

"If anything," he continued. "I'm not all that surprised. I figured he'd by the type of guy who wouldn't take something like losing lying down. You say he's driving a Mustang now?"

"Yeah, man," replied Tej. "And it's nothing like that Supra he raced you with last time. From what I heard, this thing's a real rocket on the street."

"And he's been racing?"

"He's been beating some dudes left and right for the past week."

"And he's gunnin' for me now, huh?"

"Yup."

Alex looked thoughtful. "Tsk. Well it had to happen sooner or later. I suppose he'll probably challenge me within the next few days to one last showdown."

"And what're you gonna do?

"I'll take him up on his challenge, of course."

"That's it?"

"What else is there."

Call him naïve but Tej was expecting a little more than that. He was sort of expecting Alex to say something that would indicate that he'll come up with a plan or already have one. He didn't expect Alex to just say that when the challenge comes that he'll just take with no questions.

"There's gotta be more to it than that, brah."

"Well, I've never been the kinda guy to plan ahead. I always play it by ear, you know what I'm sayin'. Right now, unless I know the exact specs of Bull's car and the exact road he'll challenge me on, I can't make any guarantees. Also that's not what's really worrying me right now."

"What is then?"

Alex took a moment of silence to look around the shop as if trying to make sure that they were alone. He gave the whole floor a once over just to make sure nobody else was there. Once satisfied that they were alone, Alex turned back to Tej.

"Does Jimmy know anything about this?"

Tej was caught off-guard by the question. But pretty soon he caught the drift. Alex was right. This was a point of concern.

"No, man," answered Tej. "I only found out from Slap and OJ a while ago. I haven't told anybody else about this yet."

"I don't think we should let Jimmy know about this yet. It's most likely he bears a bit of a grudge because of what happened during his first run in with Bull. If he caught wind of this then he might just do something dumb like challenging the guy himself."

"It definitely sounds like something Jimmy might do."

"Not just might. He probably will do it the first opportunity he gets."

"What makes you say that, man?"

Alex didn't answer right away. He looked up into the air and seemed to space out for a moment or two. When he turned back to Tej he had a nostalgic look on his face.

"Let's just say, he reminds me of what I was like a few years back."

"Well, whatever the case, he's not ready. Not yet. At the level he's on now, Bull will still have the upper hand. We can't let him make that challenge."

"That would be the best thing to do."

"Now back to you, man. Are you really just gonna wait around?"

"Yes."

"Seriously?"

"If I'm the one who will challenge them, that might put me in an uncomfortable position. If I challenge him they'll try and make it look like that I pick on guys who I've already beaten. No. I have to wait for him to come to me and he'll do it soon enough simply because as his rep is growing so will everyone's expectation of him to challenge me."

"But you gotta be at least be prepared for his skills. He may have been a push over last time but you and I both know that he's got something to show behind the wheel."

"I know he's good. Good enough to be a problem. And he probably took a lot of time actually preparing that new car of his just for little ol' me."

"Look, I'll get some of my guys to scope him out. Word is he's gonna have a big race with a couple of hotshots in Brickell tomorrow night. We could probably get some good lowdown on him from that."

"Never knew you were worried about me, man."

"Well what can I say…You make me a lot of money."

Alex chuckled that last remark off. "Thanks, man. That makes me feel real special."

Alex turned to his car and opened the driver side door. "Well, I'm gonna crash for the night. You give me a call when something's up, 'kay?"

"Got it brah."

Alex started up his car and drove off. As soon as Alex's engine was out of hearing range, Tej went on to close the shop for the night. He too went ahead and headed off to bed, glad that the day was over. His residence was close enough to the garage that it only needed a few minutes' walk. In the darkness of the garage, all was quiet and motionless.

A minute later, after Tej left, something did move.

Jimmy came out of his hiding place inside from behind a stack of tires. He stood there with a bit of a pondering look on his face. He was deeply considering what he just heard.

What happened was Jimmy left the garage right at the same time Suki did but unlike Suki who drove home Jimmy could only park his car in Tej's garage. Alex stayed behind of course since Tej said he wanted to ask him about some stuff. Two minutes walking down the path to his place he noticed that he had accidentally left his keys in the car. He quickly turned around walked back to the garage.

However, the moment he reached the door he heard His name being mentioned for the first time during Tej and Alex's conversation. He also Heard Bull's name, that whole thing about challenging Alex to a rematch, and everything after that.

"Brickell, huh?" he said to himself quietly.

He made a mental not of the name of the place. He knew it well. Brickell is a financial district with a few wide open road spaces. He has watched races there before. That would be a fine place to get his payback. He played back in his head the conversation he heard. As he expected Tej and Alex still think he can't take on this challenged. Tomorrow night he will prove them wrong.

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Morning the next day.

On a small parking lot uptown, Suki's tricked out Honda S2000 was once again busy burning rubber like nobody's business. Her girls, as usual, were on hand to provide any assistance she needed. Suki had just installed brand new adjustable shocks from TEIN, similar to what Alex was using on his car, and wanted to test them out.

As she expected, at first the shocks were a little too hard and too high for her taste. She softened them up and lowered the ride height by an inch or so. Now the car handled much better.

Handling was her priority. The S2000, even in stock form, is one of the best handling cars in the world due to its perfect 50/50 weight distribution. The biggest problem with the S2000 in stock form was that the engine was weak in low revs which gave it slight below average acceleration for a sports car. Tuning helped fix that.

Suki increased the power and acceleration through some engine tuning and weight-shaving on her car. She got a full performance package from Mugen which tuned up the intercooler, the headers, the pistons, the exhaust manifold and several other internal parts of the engine which increased response significantly. At some point however, she installed a supercharger from HKS and a customized engine management system from Nuespeed which increased engine power and response dramatically. The supercharger pushed the power to just past 300 hp, modest for a high-performance tuner car but more than enough for the S2000 and Suki's driving style.

In addition to the new shocks, The S2000 also had high-performance brakes from Brembo and TOYO tires designed for high grip. After that, all that was left was the looks. She found a nice organic looking body kit from Veilside which not only made the car look cooler but also improved the ground effects. The GT wing spoiler was added for more stability.

Then there was all that pink. Sometimes Suki herself wonder why all the pink. She is a girl but even she thinks that she is not _that_ much of a girl. The pink paint job was bad enough but the pink custom interior, which included specially made SPARCO racing seats covered in pink fur, was pushing it a little.

Nevertheless the S2000 has gained an identity of its own and everybody in the racing scene recognized it. With that car Suki had built a respectable reputation which grew more as she partnered with Tej. Now all that was left was to reach her best condition.

During her trial runs on the parking lot, she did several prowerslides and sharp turns just to see the car's threshold in handling. When the new shocks were a bit hard, she tended to powerslide a lot due to the amount of oversteer accompanied by the stiff suspension and the car handled like a go-cart. She gradually softened the suspension which increased the grip a bit more. She was nearly there, at that perfect setting.

She stopped in the middle of the lot, white smoke trailing close behind. He friends moved in with needed help.

"One last adjustment and she'll be perfect," said Suki as she stepped out of the car. "And maybe later we'll change the tires. They're pretty worn out."

Suki's group of friends were quick to roll out a jack and lift the car up while Suki fetched some tools. The process of adjusting the shocks took all of fifteen minutes. Suki and her friends enjoyed some light conversation.

"So, how's this Alex guy you've been hanging around with?" asked one of Suki's friends.

"Well…What do you want to know?"

"Is he really that good a driver as everyone is saying?"

"Well, from what I've seen, he's definitely got mad skills."

"Really? There's been word going around that his first big win against that guy from New York was just a fluke."

"It was no fluke. Trust me. I was in the passenger seat."

"He let you ride with him on the race?"

"Yeah. Just as well, I wanted to see what he can do up close. And he can do a lot. It's pretty obvious he's got plenty of practice behind the wheel. I think I remember him mentioning that he's been racing for a few years already before moving here to Miami."

By now, Suki had finished with the front wheel adjustments and was now moving to the back wheels.

"You know, Suki," said her other friend. "You seem to be taking an interest to this guy, Alex."

Suki stopped working for a moment. "What do you mean?"

"I'm saying he seems to be all that you're talking about for the last few days."

Another one of Suki's friends giggle a bit. "Yeah. And it's noticeable that you have nothing but good things to say about the guy."

Yet another of her friends started to giggle as well. "And you may say that you've just gotten along with him but this is the fastest you've 'gotten along' with a guy since…well, ever."

Suki was underneath the car at the time so she was kind of thankful that her friends who were standing outside the car couldn't see her slight blush. She shook it off and rolled herself out from under the car with the straightest face she could manage.

"But we really do just get along really well and that's it!" retorted Suki. "Besides, this is all because of Tej anyway."

"What does he got to do with you and Alex?"

"He's got this big idea about building a team."

"What kind of team?"

"An unbeatable street racing team…or at least that what he said."

"An unbeatable street racing team? Kinda sound way out there, you know, Suki?"

"I thought so too at first and so did Alex. Tej's quite serious about it though. He wants to build a small team of elite racers who will crush the competition completely. He's had this idea for a while now and he already had his picks. He wants me and Alex on the team and he's also talking to Rome about it as well. He also believes Jimmy would be a good addition once he picks up on Alex's training."

"Oh ok. So he's putting you and those guys into a team that nobody can beat."

"That's the idea."

"Something like that might attract bad press."

"He actually wants that. Both he and Alex think that this kind of team will definitely attract attention and gather a lot of challenges. That means more cash as far as they're concerned."

"I guess that would be how it works. Nice that Tej thought you'd be a great part of some unbeatable team. Well you have been pretty unbeatable ever since Bullit left town. You've definitely gotten better. I mean, not even OJ can touch you now."

"I wann ask you though, Suki," said another friend. "Say this team does get built like you say, what then? You guys will just hang around here looking all smug?"

"Well, Miami isn't the only pace with an underground racing scene you know. Suffice it to say…Tej has ambitions for us."

"And you're really going along with this?"

Suki shrugged her shoulders. "Why not? Sounds like fun actually."

By then Suki had finished up adjusting the wheels. She had packed away her tools and was headed back to her car.

"If this team of yours succeeds," said one of her friends again. "You're gonna be on top of the street racing world, basically."

"That's what Tej thinks but it'll be a while before that happens," replied Suki.

"Well it's good he picked you. And I guess that Alex guy was a pretty good choice too. He really does have mad skills."

"Yeah that's true."

"Plus he's got a cute butt, right?"

"Yeah that's true too…"

There was a short period of silence where all of Suki's friends were trying to hold back giggles. It took Suki about the same time as it takes for her car to go from 0 to 60 to recall exactly what the last thing she said was. And when that happened, she blushed noticeably.

"Hey!!"

Suki's friends just laughed it off and headed back to their own cars leaving Suki fuming in the middle of the lot. She eventually huffed it up and got in her own car to drive off.

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Later that night.

Brickell, a neighborhood in downtown Miami, was once a small almost unnoticeable spot of residential land but that land soon grew into a buzzing financial district filled with high-rise buildings that dominate the Miami skyline. After the construction boom of recent years, Brickell has earned itself the nick name "Manhattan of the south," due to the many skyscrapers filled with high-profile companies but those companies are mostly dominated by banks, both government and private.

It was now past the curfew of most people and the banks of Brickell have shut their doors for the day. The financial district was now buzzing with city night life. The scattered clubs across the district were a buzz of activity as young and old alike wash away the day-time grime with loud music and alcohol.

A fairly large parking garage that was part of one of the many high-rise buildings in the district was taken over by the street racing scene. In the day this garage would house the multitude of employees' cars that come to work in this building. Now a new crowd was occupying it. The first level was almost fully occupied by tuner cars and people while the second, third, forth, and fifth levels were completely empty. Those were being saved for something special.

On the first level the floor was filled with flashing cars and shaking bodies. Club music echoed across the concrete of the structure. As usual there were more people busy showing off their cars rather than doing any racing.

The beats of the music was only interrupted when the sound of loud engine revs echoed throughout the floor. One sound was the unmistakable growl of a high-powered V8 engine. Everyone tuned towards the ramp leading to the second level in anticipation for something as the engine noises grew louder.

Within seconds, a gun-metal gray Ford Mustang GT came sliding around and driving down the ramp at high speed. The crowd cheered at the car's arrival as it raced down a short stretch on the lot and came to a stop in the middle of the floor. Seconds later it was followed by a Lancer Evo 7 with a predominantly black paint job with bright red stripes and tear graphics running across the side and the hood.

The Evo 7 stopped just behind the Mustang GT at which point the driver of the Mustang, Bull, stepped out with a smug look on his face. The crowd and his own posse started gathering around him and applauding him. Bull raised his fist victoriously.

By then the Evo driver stepped out of his car and wore a very frustrated look on his face. Bull saw him and slowly walked towards him, keeping his smug look. He came face to face with the Evo driver and reach a plam out as if waiting to be given something.

"Pay up," said Bull.

The Evo driver was hesitant at first but soon reluctantly fished a wad of cash, 3 grand worth, out of his pocket. Bull didn't wait for him to hand it over and quickly grabbed the wad of cash and pocketed it himself. He then gave the Evo driver a rather hard shove as if telling him to get out of his face. He then walked back to his car and his posse. One of his posse, the man in the leather jacket, came up to Bull.

"That was a great take huh, boss?"

"Shut up!" replied Bull.

The man seemed taken aback. "But boss--"

"I said can it! You call this a great take? That race in the docks was a great take! This is chump change compared to that!"

"Aw c'mon boss. It wasn't our fault. That pizza guy came out of nowhere."

"Whatever. Why hasn't that guy challenged me yet? Haven't you been spreading the word?"

"We have, boss. You're getting to be pretty popular with all this hotshots you've been beating recently. But that Kid seems to be laying low and only taking on challenges that Tej guy is giving him."

"Has he challenged anyone after he beat me?"

"No. He doesn't challenge anyone. Boss I think he's waiting for you to challenge him."

Bull was quiet for a moment. "Is that so?"

"Well, he has been kinda avoiding you. But I don't think he'll back down from a challenge if you give him one. And I think it's best if we do issue the challenge first."

"Why do you think that?"

"If we do then we'll be in the position of laying down the stakes. Stakes that we can afford. But that guy will probably demand something big from the loser if he issued the challenge. He'll probably try something like the last time you raced against him. At least if we challenge him, we won't lose much in case we--"

Bull's hand suddenly went to the guy's collar and he gripped hard. "Are you implying that I'll lose to that guy again?"

The man in leather was starting to choke. "No…no, boss I…never said--"

"I spent all this time preparing for a rematch. No matter who issues the challenge first I _will_ wipe the asphalt with his sorry ass!"

Bull then threw him to the floor and the man in leather landed hard on his butt.

"Let him bring whatever stakes he wants to the table," continued Bull. "I'll come out on top in the end. I won't let him get away with humiliating me!"

Just then another one of Bull's posse walked up to him from behind and whispered into his ear.

"Uh, Boss, there's someone here to see you."

"Who is it now?"

The guy pointed in a direction. Bull looked in that direction. There he saw Jimmy standing there in front of his tuned Golf. Jimmy was wearing a rather antagonistic look on his face. Bull was curious at first before he realized what this kid was there for. When he did, he slowly grinned.

Jimmy walked up to Bull. "Hey hotshot!" he exclaimed. "You and I got some unfinished business."

Bull only grinned wider. Fate, as it seemed, was smiling on him that night.

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Author's note: Nothing much to say here. Expect some big racing next Chapter as Jimmy gets himself into some pretty hot water. Until then pls. R&R.


	9. Chapter 8

Somewhere in the freeway.

Alex's Silvia S15 sat on the curb, its bright yellow hazard lights blinking on and off. On one side was the barrier that marked the edge of the drivable road. On the other side was the road itself and marginal traffic wheezing pass by every now and then. At that particular hour, the road was at its least amount of traffic. Barely any cars were on the road.

Inside the car, Alex was laying back on his seat, eyes closed as if he was asleep and dreaming. His breathing was at a slow but constant rhythm. One hand was on the steering wheel and the other was resting on the top of the gear shift. His right foot lazily rested on the gas pedal and his left foot switched between the clutch and the foot brake in tune with his breathing. In front of him the engine was humming softly.

He stayed like this for awhile, breathing slowly. Though he looked to be sleeping, he was actually wide awake and his mind was in overdrive. In his head he a road ahead of him. He saw the black tarmac whizzing past under his wheels. He saw every curve, every bend, every rise and fall, moving with the earth it was built on. He pictured that road rolling by faster and faster.

_First Rule of Racing: Never look back. What's behind you doesn't matter._

Alex opened his eyes. He used his left hand to reach up to the hazard lights switch and turned them off. That hand soon went down to the handbrake and pulled the thing down. With the car's wheels now free, Alex's right hand gripped the steering wheel tightly. His left hand switched to the gear shift. He popped the clutch and shifted to first gear.

He pressed down on the gas pedal and brought the car from a dead stop to a slow crawl towards the middle of the freeway. When he was in the middle of the road, his foot began to press harder on the gas pedal. Alex looked dead ahead with sharp focused eyes. He listened as his engines revs increased in pitch as it was nearing the redline. His newly installed boost gauges were also moving, indicating that the turbos were already spooling. The speedometer was just climbing past 50 mph.

_Second Rule of Racing: The road is your true opponent. Everything else is just an obstacle._

When Alex's sharp ears heard that right pitch and tone from his engine, he popped his clutch and shifted up to second gear. Already he could feel the car accelerating faster. The speedometer was now climbing past 70 mph and still going as the tachometer was reaching the red line of around 8000 rpm's. Alex never looked at these instruments but instead kept his eyes glued onto the road ahead and his ears sharp, listening closely to the sound of his machine.

_Third Rule of Racing: Never aim for the finish line. It doesn't exist…_

Up to third gear now and past 90 mph. By now Alex was starting to pass by some of the scant few cars that passed him by when he was sitting still on the side of the road. The lights from the lampposts started to blur into a single line of amber light.

…'_cause the real roads to perfection…they run forever…_

He heard that specific pitch again. Moreover he felt it with his body as the engine reached the redline. His reaction was almost instantaneous, shifting up to forth gear in a blink of an eye. The speedometer slow climbed past 130 mph just as Alex shifted gears. His face didn't change expression.

_Those of us who seek ultimate speed…_

Alex was now overtaking anything and everything on the road. Cars that were cruising along at reasonable speeds were passed bay as if they were standing still. They appeared only blurs in Alex's peripheral vision yet he evaded them with the delicacy and precision of a surgeon. All the while getting faster and faster. Redline again and the car was now going over 150 mph. He shifted up to fifth gear.

The Road ahead looked empty. He could see there was at least a mile or so between him and the next car. The speedometer inched past 160. 170. 180. By the time the tachometer was reaching the redline, the car around 185 mph. Alex shifted to top gear. Now on sixth gear, Alex took his left hand away from the gear shift and now gripped the steering wheel with both hands.

…_drive on streets unlimited, with no true ends._

The tachometer climbed much slower this time, almost at the same rate as the speedometer which soon started easing past the coveted 200 mark. The road ahead turned into a blur of light and time seemed to slow down in Alex's sights. His body seemed to relax on its own. He lost that tense look of concentration in his eyes and was glazed over with an expression on inexplicable peace. And in that moment, it was here he felt calm. It was here he felt free.

_Do you understand what I'm telling you, kid?_

Alex's thoughts were interrupted when his cell phone started ringing.

Alex snapped back to reality. His reaction was immediate. He let go of the gas pedal and let the car ease itself back down onto a reasonable cruise speed. He didn't bother shifting down yet since traveling a low revs conserves fuel. As the engine eased down to a low hum and the S15 cruised at a modest 90 mph at around 2000 rpm, Alex reached into his pocket and fished out his phone.

He looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Suki calling. Alex answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Alex, where are you right now?" asked Suki.

"Just cruising around. What's with the late night call?"

"We…have a bit of a problem."

"…What kind of problem?"

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Back at the parking garage.

"I came here for you," said Jimmy as he came right up to Bull's face.

Bull for his part remained cool. He knew who he was dealing with and he knew how to deal. "Really? Why would that be?"

"You and I have unfinished business, pal,"

"Looking at you talking all tough. You think you got what it takes to go up against me. You barely walked away from the last time you challenged me. Do yourself a favor kid and quit while you're ahead."

Bull started to walk away at that point. Jimmy was visibly irked by this gesture. Jimmy tried to go after Bull and grab his shoulder but was interrupted when that man in leather quickly stood in front of Jimmy and pushed him back. Jimmy stumbled back a bit and the man in leather made a threatening gesture with his hands.

"You best back up there pal," he told Jimmy.

"Stay out of my way, man," said Jimmy. "This has nothing to do with you."

"You think you can challenge the boss like that? He's beaten hotshots all over this town. What makes you think a rank amateur like you stands a chance?"

"I know I can beat him!"

"Please! You probably can't even beat me!"

"Beat you? I'll mop the floor with you!"

"It's a hundred years too early for you to be challenging me, kiddo."

"Prove it then!" said Bull now turned back towards Jimmy's direction.

The man in the leather jacket looked back at his senior. "What? Boss?"

"You've always been a bit of a big mouth, Vic. You have a car but you can barely call it a tuner car. Calling it a ricer is closer. Plus you haven't really had what anyone would call a fantastic winning record and I'm starting to wonder why I let you roll with me when everybody else in this group is getting ahead of you. And do I have to remind you how far your…'easy win schemes' have taken us? I don't know why I bothered listening to you after all this time."

The guy in leather, or "Vic" as it seems, looked shocked. "B-B-But boss. You can't be serious."

"I am very serious." Bull walked right up to his face. "You kept promising me I'd be big by now but I'm still racing no-talent hotshots for chump change. Your schemes have led to nothing but trouble. If you wanna stay with us then prove to me that you're worth keeping."

"But I am a good driver! I can race for you. You just haven't been giving me enough chances."

"I gave you plenty and you've proven nothing to me. You just like this kid here!" Bull pointed towards Jimmy which caught him off-guard. "Both of you are all talk but with nothing behind it. Just like this kid, you kept telling me you got what it took to roll with the best but you barely pass as a rookie! I'm sick of all that bullshit! You want chances? This is the last one you're ever gonna get! Beat this kid and prove to me that there's something behind those things you keep babbling on about!"

Bull quickly turned away and walked up to Jimmy.

"As for you, kid, here's my deal. You beat this guy and I'll give you that race you want for whatever stakes you decide. That cool with you?"

Jimmy was hesitant in answering. This wasn't what he came for. A race to get back his reputation was all he wanted and he couldn't do that unless it was Bull who he'll beat. But he somehow knew that he couldn't back down from this race. Seeing that little exchanged between Vic and Bull seemed to have delivered the hint that this might not be as easy as he thought.

Jimmy was having second thoughts now. Maybe Alex and Tej were right and maybe he wasn't ready yet. Maybe he did act a little too hastily when he decided to come here tonight. By that little conversation Bull had with his man, he could somehow surmise that this Vic was not much of a racer but he talked big anyway. A thought occurred in Jimmy's head: Am I like that?

"Well?" pressed Bull. "Are you gonna accept or are you just another windbag like Vic here?"

Jimmy knew he had no choice at this point. "…I accept."

Bull smiled. "Good. Let's race then…"

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Minutes later.

Jimmy's Golf R32 sat in the middle of the floor of the first level. His front bumper was directly behind a bright red line that was drawn on the floor with some florescent chalk which glowed brightly under the florescent lights in the ceiling. Already a crowd was gathering around the starting line while Jimmy sat nervously at the line.

The race was simple enough to understand but several times harder to execute. The racers start at a single point on the first floor where they will also end. On the signal of the start both cars will dash straight towards the ramp going around and up to the next floor above, located at the middle part of the side of the structure. Once the driver reaches the next floor he will dash all the way to the opposite wall about 200 feet from the ramp. At the wall the driver will turn right towards the corner of the floor around 250 feet away. The driver's objective will be to turn right at every corner on the floor before returning to the middle and head back towards the ramps and go to the next level above where the driver will repeat the process.

The driver must do this for all four levels above the first level and after clearing the top level it's straight down the ramps back to the first level to a final short sprint back to the driver's original starting position. As usual, first guy to finish ling wins all the stakes which in this case was a respectable 3000 dollars.

Already, some of the onlookers have placed themselves in and around the course, cell phones at the ready transmitting live video via the airwaves to other cell phones and to large LCD screens that were the usual modifications to the numerous tricked out rides there. Audience members were guaranteed the best seats in the house no matter

"You can do this," Jimmy said quietly to himself. "You can do this…You can do this…You can do this…"

His mind kept reeling back to all those conversations he had with Tej in the past few weeks. Tej had always told him he wasn't ready to take on any of the more experienced racers. Up until that incident at the docks, Jimmy only took on other newcomers and newbies in the world of street racing. Jimmy had always called those victories results of his skill while everyone else seem to think that it was mostly because of his superiorly tuned car.

Jimmy longed for a chance to challenge a more elite member of the racing world in a high-stake race. The first chance he got was an absolute disaster. Yet after that he still continued to talk big even in the face of far superior racers like Alex and Suki who have been trying their best to train him. And now all that is causing him to have doubts. Bad timing considering what's about to happen.

He continued his chant. "You can do this…You can do this…You can do this…"

"You know that only works if you believe it yourself," said Alex who was suddenly leaning down over the driver's window looking right down at Jimmy.

Jimmy was taken by surprise by Alex's sudden appearance and quickly stopped his little mantra.

"What's the matter?" said Alex "Getting nervous?"

"Man, what are you doing here?"

"Isn't that my question?"

Jimmy was silenced for a moment. Jimmy took a closer look at Alex's face to see if he was mad or something. He knew Alex had every right to be. But it looked more like he was mildly annoyed at best.

"…So, did you come here to stop me racing."

"Originally yes. But…"

"…But what?"

"You need this lesson. If it was Bull I would've stopped you but that doesn't seem to be the case. I heard from some guys back there your racing another guy from his crew. Is that right?"

"Yeah."

"What's he like, this guy you're up against?"

"He's…I don't know. From what I could tell from his talk with his boss it seemed like he's not that spectacular. And apparently…he likes to talk big a lot…kinda like…like me…"

Alex was taken a bit aback by that but eventually smiled at that last comment. He's finally learning something important, Alex thought to himself. Jimmy also noticed that smile but was a bit confused as to what it meant. Just then, the roar of a big V8 rolling up to the starting line. Both Alex and Jimmy looked behind the Golf and spotted Jimmy's opponent.

Vic's car was a navy blue 2004 Pontiac GTO. As far as styling goes the car had silver racing stripes running down the top of the body and on the sides of the car. The car was also equipped with a RK Sports ground effects kit. Performance-wise the cars only modifications were Predator GM Flash Tuner for the engine management system, a Dropzone lowering spring set for the suspension, and some slick street performance tires from BFGoodrich wrapped around 18" Marin Wheels from American Racing.

As soon as he reached the starting line, Vic continuously revved his engine as to try and intimidate Jimmy. Which seemed to be working to a certain degree. Jimmy listened nervously to the power of that engine. That thing had to be sporting at least 400 horses, he thought. Alex thought the same thing but as he listened to the engine he got a good profile of the car in the process. Around them, the audience gallery started cheering.

This was Alex's special skill after all. He was impassioned when it came to cars and he studied all he could about cars in his spare time. A simple rev of the engine and Alex could easily make a pretty accurate description of its performance. He did estimate that the GTO had about 400hp under the hood but the engine itself didn't sound like it had any mechanical tuning done to it. He couldn't hear the distinctive spooling of either turbos or superchargers. The car seemed to be lightly tuned at best.

"Jimmy listen up," said Alex calling Jimmy's attention. "This guy has some decent power under that hood but his car is heavy. You have the advantage in terms of machine performance and your car is much more suited to this kind of course. You can take him, I know you can."

"You sure about that?"

"I'm sure. This'll be a good chance for you to learn something important as well."

"What's that?"

Just then, Vic stuck his head out the window of his GTO and began calling out his opponent. "Hey! Are you done chit-chatting already?! Let's race dammit!"

"Are you in a hurry to lose or something?" retorted Alex. "Wait a freakin' second, will ya'!"

That silenced Vic temporarily and seemed to have gotten the crowd riled up a bit. Alex turned back to Jimmy.

"Listen carefully, Jimmy, this is important."

Jimmy turned his full attention to Alex now. Alex started. "Don't look at his bumper. That's a mistake most newbies make. If you concentrate on his bumper then you're only concentrating to be as close to him as possible but not going ahead of him. Focus on the road ahead."

"But I don't understand how that will--"

"Just remember this: The road is your true opponent. Everything else is just an obstacle you have to drive around. Concentrate on the road ahead; find a driving line that works for you. Remember, everything else is just an obstacle that you have to look beyond to find your ideal line. You getting me?"

Jimmy hesitated a bit and then nodded eventually.

"I hope so."

With that, Alex stepped away from the Jimmy's Golf and walked to the middle of the lot right in the path in-between the two racers. The crowds cheered in anticipation. Alex raised one hand and pointed to Jimmy who responded by revving his engine to signal he was ready. With the other hand he did the same to Vic who responded similarly. Alex raised his right hand with all five fingers out. He counted down starting from his pinky.

"You got this, Jimmy," he mumbled under his breath as his thumb folded and he formed a fist. Alex dropped his fist towards the floor and in that instant both cars were off the line, leaving a cloud of white smoke behind them.

Alex turned around and watched the two cars disappear up the ramp. He was a bit nervous when the GTO quickly pulled ahead and reached the ramp first. But he was expecting this. The GTO had the advantage on the straights but this race will be decided in the corners.

He turned towards a parked van on the side where some people have already started to gather. The back of the van was open and this revealed a large plasma screen TV surrounded by a dozen speakers and a couple of subwoofers. The video was a live footage of the race that has been taken to the second level.

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On the second level.

The GTO was the first of the ramp. The Golf followed soon after only half a second behind. Jimmy gunned the engine and closed the gap between him and the GTO even more. They were half-way down the floor approaching the opposite wall and the imminent turn up ahead. Jimmy, knowing that he can over take the GTO with sheer power, went for full revs as he aimed for the inside line.

He was caught off-guard when the GTO suddenly cut him off and hit his brakes hard. Jimmy was forced to do the same otherwise risk destroying his front bumper in a collision. The GTO ended up taking a tight inside line at low speed, nearly touching the supporting pillar. Jimmy had to take a wider line around the corner as he tried to recover. The two cars were approaching the next corner, another right angle. Jimmy once again tried to take the inside line. Vic noticed this as he took a peak at his rear-view mirror.

"No way, kid," he mumbled, "this race is mine!"

The GTO once again took the inside line and closed the door on Jimmy as he tried and failed at an attempt to pass. Jimmy fell back as the GTO braked hard and took the corner real tight. Jimmy was struggling with the race even though it was still only this early into it. The case was the same for all of the remaining corners. Soon the two cars were headed for the ramp again and going up to the next level, the GTO keeping the lead.

"Dammit," he keeps cutting me off!" Jimmy exclaimed.

On the third level, Jimmy once again made several attempts to make a pass but was cut off every time. The GTO maintained its lead as Vic continued to take tight inside lines at the corners. He may not be the nest racer in the world but he wasn't an amateur. He had a strategy in mind. By keeping to the inside at all corners he believed that he was assured the best racing line for the course while giving is opponent no avenue to pass. It seemed to be working as Jimmy struggled to try and get the inside line.

"Now way your're passing me, Kid" said Vic. "Give it up!"

By then they were already headed towards the ramp leading to the fourth level and Jimmy had yet to do something different. Problem was he couldn't think of anything other than sticking to the GTO bumper as close as he can. Jimmy was getting frustrated and was starting to doubt that he actually had a chance at winning. By the time they exited the ramp and were up to the fourth level, Jimmy was only thinking that the same story will happen again.

"Dammit, is there no way around this guy?" he asked himself.

_Don't look at his bumper. That's a mistake most newbies make._ Suddenly Alex's words popped up in Jimmy's mind. That's right, Jimmy thought. Alex said something about this._ If you concentrate on his bumper then you're only concentrating to be as close to him as possible but not going ahead of him_. Jimmy briefly looked back to what he was doing since the start of the race. That was exactly what e was doing, looking at his opponent's bumper.

"Then what am I supposed to do then?" he quietly asked himself as the two cars approach the opposite wall.

_Concentrate on the road ahead; find a driving line that works for you._ Alex's words continued to repeat in Jimmy's head. _Remember, everything else is just an obstacle that you have to look beyond to find your ideal line._ They approached the turn and then the GTO once again braked hard and took a tight inside line. Jimmy didn't try to pass this time since he learned it was useless trying to gain the inside line and simply followed the GTO around the corner. But then as the GTO made the turn, Jimmy started noticing something.

_Everything else is just an obstacle you have to drive around._

Jimmy then saw it. He saw the opportunity he was looking for. He finally understood what Alex was getting at. He saw his opening. His ideal line. Jimmy started to grin devilishly as he gripped the steering wheel a little tighter. So that's it, Jimmy thought to himself. I see it now. I can win this race!

Jimmy started pulling back his Golf R32 and simply followed the GTO as it went around the next two corners. On the approach to the next corner, Jimmy put his plan into action. He knew what to do now, what Vic's weakness was and where the true opening was. As usual, Vic went in tight into the corner grabbing the best line. Vic was sure by now the victory was his.

"C'mon kid, is that all you got?!" he exclaimed while laughing cockily.

But at that point Jimmy made his move. Jimmy suddenly moved to the outside just as the GTO braked hard. The Golf went on a wide arc across the corner and actually went into a small 4WD drift. Vic was caught off guard. The Golf took advantage of apex which was the widest area in the course and drove as close to the outer wall as close as it could afford. Coming out of the corner the GTO and the Golf were neck and neck.

"What the hell?!" Exclaimed Vic as they came out into the straight.

The Golf slowly pulled away as Jimmy shifted up a gear. Vic tried to gun his engine. He knew that if he could get ahead and take the inside line again before his opponent he might have a chance to regain the lead. But he was wrong. The turn came up too soon and Vic, out of habit, slammed the brakes hard. Jimmy didn't do that. Jimmy smoothly down shifted and eased on the brakes aiming for a wider line around the corner.

By then it was clear who had the more pressing advantage. Coming out of the corner, the Golf was at least a full car length ahead of the GTO and increasing that gap by the second. Jimmy was way ahead by the time he reached the ramp and the GTO followed soon after.

The fifth level was the last level. If anything was gonna happen it had to happen here and now. Vic knew this was his last chance to regain the lead. As for Jimmy, all he had to do was keep the lead for a little bit longer. After making the rounds on this level it was straight down the ramps and back to the first level. Jimmy knew the weakness of his enemy now.

Had it not been for Alex's advice he never would've seen it. His opponent had a bad habit of braking too hard and always aiming for the inside of the corner. He was slow in coming in and slow in coming out. All Jimmy had to do was aim for the outside and let the advantage of his car's 4WD do the rest.

Jimmy easily kept his lead on the last level. With Vic behind him, he could now concentrate on the best line he could find. He now started aiming for tighter turns in the last few corners. Vic struggled to keep up to the Golf. Jimmy was now going for the last turn. Vic was desperate at this point. It showed in his driving.

"I'm not gonna let you beat me!" he exclaimed.

The GTO suddenly shot forward on full throttle. Jimmy spotted the move on his rear view mirror. He could predict what was gonna happen if he didn't move. Jimmy turned to the outside and let the GTO pass him on the inside. Vic thought he regained the lead permanently but neglected to consider that he may have gone in too fast. And in truth he did.

The GTO shot right through the corner and tried to correct itself in the way out but the amount of momentum simply wouldn't allow it to go on Vic's desired line. The GTO understeered coming out of the corner and slid all the way toward one of the supporting pillars. The GTO's left rear fender slammed into the pillar and caused the GTO to fishtail out of control in the middle of the course while Vic tried desperately to regain control.

Jimmy slowed down for only a moment in order to observe the GTO. From a normal person's perspective the GTO was all over the place and left no room to pass. In the driver seat Jimmy thought otherwise.

"Just another obstacle," he said to himself.

It was then when the GTO was sliding to the right, Jimmy quickly shifted up and shot through the brief opening on the left and retook the lead. The Golf R32 was the first one to the ramp and the GTO struggled to catch up but was ultimately out of options. The race was practically over.

Less than ten seconds later, Jimmy was already at the first level again. He eased his Golf onto to finish line into the waiting, cheering crowd. Jimmy stepped out and was absolutely ecstatic, raising his fist in the air and yelling out victoriously. The GTO eventually came down and was only met with the cold disappointment from Bull and the rest of his crew. It was at that point that Vic knew he was never gonna race in this town again. Jimmy enjoyed basking in his victory. Somewhere in the crowd he spotted Alex giving him a simple approving smirk.

He didn't know exactly why but for Jimmy this was the sweetest victory he had tasted yet.

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Author's note: Lot's of progression on Jimmy's part. Now we'll move on to Alex and Bull's final showdown. As usual, please R&R and look out for the next chapter.


	10. Chapter 9

Somewhere in Miami.

"I swear when I get my hands on that boy," said Tej threateningly.

He was currently riding on the passenger seat of Rome's Plymouth 'Cuda on their way to Brickell. Following a short distance behind them was Suki in her pink Honda S2000. Tej's sentiments towards jimmy were understandable. After all that he's told him about him not being ready he still went ahead without so much as leaving a note.

It started when Jimmy said that he would go out since Suki asked him to go an errand with her. Tej believed him at that point. About an hour later while hanging out with Rome, Tej discovered that he couldn't reach Jimmy's cell phone. At first he assumed low battery. So he called Suki instead to check up on that errand they were on. Imagine his surprise when Suki answered that she never asked Jimmy to go with her on any errand.

It didn't take too long for Tej to piece the puzzle together. Suki started contacting Alex and told him about the situation. He told them about the most likely place Jimmy would be and they all seemed to agree with him. Alex, who was already on the road at the time, went on a head first while keeping the rest updated through text messages. Now Tej, Rome and Suki were following suit.

Alex's last message indicated that he made contact with Jimmy but he hasn't said anything after that. If there was a race or anything like that, Alex didn't say. Tej was naturally worried as much as he was angry.

"Why doesn't that boy ever listen to what I say?" complained Tej.

"Chill, man, I'm sure Alex has got this," said Rome, trying to reassure his friend.

"But he hasn't said anything for almost half-an-hour already, man. I keep getting this vibe that something already happened."

"I'm sure they're fine. I trust that dude Alex."

"I'm just hoping Jimmy hasn't gone into a race yet."

"Why're you so worried, man. I think Jimmy should get back into racin'. He's been working out his driving with Alex and Suki for the past week. And it's already been a while since that crash of his."

"What I don't want is for that kid to be challenging the wrong people. He's too cocky, that Jimmy. He'll try to challenge somebody he has no chance of winning against."

"But you have to admit, man. He needs a race. He needs to learn some lessons. Only a real race is gonna show him what's wrong and what's right with him. Both Alex and I see it that way. Win or lose he has to learn somthin' out of this. This might really be a good thing for him.

"Man, I just don't know."

Meanwhile in the S2000, Suki was worrying by herself. Like Alex and Rome she also believed that an authentic race would be good for Jimmy at his stage of development as a driver. Only unlike the two guys who were very eager about the idea, she was a little hesitant. Rome described her worry as one a big sister would have over a little brother. Suki and Jimmy did after all share a sibling-like relationship.

She was basically waiting on a text message from Alex who had already notified them that he found him and was able to talk to him. She just didn't know what was talked about or if Alex actually stopped the race.

Just then as if on cue her cell phone beeped to indicate a massage was received. Suki noticed and quickly grabbed her phone and displayed the message. A quick look at the sender's name to see it was from Alex. It was a very short message but she read it over and over. After reading it a seventh time, she smiled in satisfaction.

Suki then switched lanes and accelerated a bit until she was side by side with Rome's side of the 'Cuda.

"Hey guys!" she called out over the sound of the wind.

Rome and Tej noticed her. She indicated with a motion of her hand to bring down the windows. Rome rolled down his window. Suki showed them her cell phone and quickly tossed it across her car and towards Rome's open window. Rome caught the device with his shifting hand He took a look at the message displayed on the phone. He smirked.

"Well how about that…" he said.

"What?" asked Tej.

Rome handed the phone to Tej so that he could read for himself. Tej grabbed the phone while giving both Roem and Suki a curious look. He then looked at the message. The Sender's name at the top read "Alex" and the short two word message simply read "He won."

Slowly Tej curved his lips to a satisfied smile. He eventually looked to the side and saw Rome's smiling face that was bordering on giggling at him as if to say "I told you so". Tej quickly wiped the smile off his face and tried to look as serious as he could and tossed Suki back her cell phone.

"I'm still gonna kick his ass when I get him," said Tej with an authoritative tone.

Rome started laughing at his expense.

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Back at the parking garage.

Vic has just arrived on his GTO only to find that Jimmy was already celebrating. The crowd was cheering and he was just eating it up. Vic was naturally furious but at the same time he was very anxious. Of the corner of his eye he saw Bull and the rest of the posse. They didn't look pleased at all.

Vic pleaded with his eyes but Bull only responded with a cold glance suggesting that he never wanted to see him again. That was their deal. Vic had failed and now Bull had no more use for him. Vic was finished. He turned back to Jimmy and the look of elation on the kid's face drove Vic off the deep end.

He slowly started stepping towards Jimmy at an increasing pace, his teeth gritted. Jimmy only noticed him at the corner of his eye as Vic approached. Vic started to raise his fist Jimmy was caught-off guard by the gesture and backed away from Vic who simply drew closer and closer. Vic was about to take a swing when suddenly another fist came from the side and knocked him right in the chin.

Vic sprawled onto the pavement much to the surprise of the crowd. Jimmy watched as Vic fell then looked up to see that the fist that nailed Vic in the chin belonged to Alex.

"Man, I hate sore losers," he commented. He then stepped over Vic and went to Jimmy. "You okay there kid?"

"Dude, I'm better than okay," he replied.

"How's that victory tastes?"

"Sweet. Better than anything!"

"Told you you got it. I was watching you. Good thing you figured out that he was braking too hard and went for the outside line. Though I expected you to get that part a little earlier."

Jimmy nodded. Yeah, yeah. I guess I was just too frustrated. Couldn't focus enough."

"But that's changed now. You're that much closer to becoming a real race car driver. Just you wait and we'll turn you to an expert driver yet."

In the meantime. Vic was just recovering from that punch to his face. He looked up from the floor and found Bull looking back down on him with an expression of disgust. Vic was instantly afraid for his life at that point. Vic leaned down a little bit closer to Vic's face.

"Don't ever show your face around here again," said Bull.

Bull then completely ignored Vic and walked over him to approach Alex and Jimmy. Alex saw Bull coming from the corner of his eye. Alex pretended to not know that Bull was there until the man was less than three feet to his side. That's when he turned and acted rather surprised that the New Yorker was there to begin with.

"Well, well, well," said Alex. "Enjoying the night air are we?"

"You got some guts showing your face around here, pizza boy."

"Oh, you remember me then?"

"A cocky-ass driver like you, how could I forget?"

"Well, I do tend to leave an impression on people. So do you actually. Heard you've been getting around, beating down racers left and right. In a new ride too. You're moving up in the world, aren't you?"

Bull's solid expression didn't falter. "You must be proud of your boy here."

"Oh, have no doubt about that."

"He seems pretty pleased about it himself. He seems to think he's pretty good."

Alex looked through the corner of his eye and watched for Jimmy's reaction. Jimmy's elated expression was gone and he now tried to look as serious as he could. But Alex could tell that the comment affected him on a certain level.

Alex was looking more serious now. "He _is_ pretty good."

"Well pretty good isn't good enough. You tell your boy there that he just doesn't walk up to guys like me binging only that weak shit. There's no way he could ever match up to me and he shouldn't even bother trying."

"How would you know?"

"I've seen him drive. He's no good."

"All you saw was what could happen when you get a flat."

Bull was silent but for only a minute. His voice was escalating from those last few sentences and he noticed that a crowd has started to grow around him and Alex. Alex pretended not to notice the crowd coming in and forced down a smile. Bull was once again heading into what would be an uncomfortable position.

"Instead of complaining about how "weak" your opponents are why don't you go find someone who think is your level."

Bull grinned with a steely look in his eyes. "Why? You think you're up for the job."

"I said _on_ your level, not above it."

A series of "ooooh's" emanated from the crowd. Alex didn't like coming off as arrogant but in some situation he simply couldn't help it. Bull was one of those cases where Alex had to show just how much of his cockiness can he actually prove. Alex may be arrogant from time to time but he never bites off more than he can chew.

"You know I hear you've been talking smack about me too," continued Alex. "Now I'm not one to blame a guy for hating somebody he lost to. Trust me, been there done that. But are you just gonna talk smack or are you actually gonna put it down. Make up your mind 'cause frankly I'm getting pissed off."

More "ooooh's" from the crowd. Bull was starting to show on his face that he was getting uncomfortable. Now Alex was once again dominating the conversation. He was wondering whether he should make the challenge instead and call Bull out to a race. No sooner did he think about that did Alex reject the idea. He was never one to put forward a challenge anyway. He was usually the one accepting challenges but at the same time he wasn't above conning someone he wasn't particularly fond of into a race. Which was what he was doing to Bull.

"You think I'm gonna back off?" said Bull. "You think I'm just gonna walk away?"

"That would be the smart thing for you to do right now."

"Well screw that! You want a challenge? You got one! I'm calling you out to one last race!"

The crowd started cheering now. Alex hadn't expected this so early but it seems that Bull really wanted that rematch. Fine, he'll give it to him.

"Where and when?" asked Alex.

Bull stared down Alex with a steely look. "Night after tomorrow. There's a little something a few guys organized going on at the Beach. I-195. Starting line is at the corner of Alton and Arthur. You know the place?"

Alex remained cool in his expression, refusing to show intimidation. "Just in front of the Oasis restaurant right? You wanna settle this at the bridge, huh?"

"Yeah. We'll race down to Biscayne and back. With you that makes six drivers. Buy-in is 45 large, winner takes all. You up for it?"

"I'll take you on. Whatever you can bring, pal."

"I'll tell them you're coming then. When this is over you're gonna regret ever messing with me, pizza boy."

"We'll see won't we?"

Alex flashed Bull a confident grin. Bull kept his steely expression as he walked away. Bull eventually disappeared into the crowd and Alex was sure that was the last he'll see of him tonight. A challenge has finally been laid down and it looked like it wasn't gonna be a walk in the park. Well, Alex was nothing if he wasn't confident. He liked having stacked odds. Without them, life would just get boring.

Jimmy walked up to him with a concerned look. "You sure you can take this guy?"

"He's got some skill and from what I've heard a decent ride. He will be tough but I know I can beat him."

"I-195. That's the longest bridge connecting the beach to the mainland."

"Yeah, I know. You know the road, huh?"

"I've seen a few races held there. Dude that's over six-an-a-half miles of almost nothing but straight road. The Bull guy is packing a V8!"

"Yeah, it would seem like he's got the advantage there. Based on the last race I had with him he's best at high speed driving. This kind of race is something that would really suit him."

"If it's so perfect for him, why'd you still take that challenge?"

Alex gave Jimmy a wry smile. "Don't look down on my Silvia, Jimmy. You have no idea what she's capable of."

Jimmy looked at Alex curiously.

"Besides," continued Alex. "Right now you shouldn't be so worried about me."

"Then who should I be worried about?"

Alex pointed behind him. "Them."

Jimmy looked behind him and saw Tej and company standing a few feet away and Tej did not look particularly pleased at the situation. Jimmy swallowed nervously. Alex sighed exasperatingly.

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The next day.

It was in the middle of the afternoon, during those lazy hours just between lunch time and sundown. Alex returned to his day job of pizza delivery and that was keeping him pretty busy. And in the meantime when Alex traded his four wheels for two, the Silvia S15 was sitting at a spot inside Tej's garage, under Jimmy's care.

In his absence, Alex asked the guys a favor of doing the usual tune-up and check-up. He had already told everyone about the race he was gonna have tomorrow evening. As such, he wanted to prepare his car as best he could prior to the race. At the moment Jimmy did the usual stuff: oil change, diagnosis, etc. Alex also purchased some new oils and engine cleaners that Jimmy had also put in as part of the maintenance. And in doing so he learned a lot about the S15.

He knew already that the engine was a swapped VQ35HR that was tuned but to see it up close like this was something else. The engine was a work of art, he thought. Everything worked harmoniously as if it was built out of a single piece of metal. Any real tuner would've been able to tell that this car was not built, it was crafted.

Many amateur tuners think that tuning a car simply involves slapping on a new part or replacing an old part with a bigger version. That kind of mentality often lead to their downfall. Too often would an inexperienced tuner would put something in his engine that while does increase power will often do more harm than good. Sometimes people will be putting in a turbo in just one day to add a little power but they soon cause the engine to seize due to excess heat.

Jimmy even personally knew someone who accidentally blew his engine after carelessly installing a nitrous kit. One push of that magic red button and that guy's racing days was over. Jimmy has heard countless stories of custom jobs gone bad, some of which he thought were just too dumb to be true, like that one story where a guy tried to make his car more aerodynamic with a new front bumper but because it was incompatible it ended up blocking the intercooler which, again, caused overheating and blew the engine.

A real tuner wouldn't make such mistakes. They know exactly what they want out of their engine and each individual part. A real tuner would make sure that any modification is not just some bolt-on extra but an extension of the engine's body and capabilities. They would often mix and match certain parts to compensate for the other like adding a bigger intercooler along with a new turbo. Tuners would also often spend days running their cars through rigorous trial runs in order to fine tune even the simplest of parts. This assures that the car will actually last.

Jimmy stood there over the open hood of the S15 admiring the engine for a long while. He had already finished all the maintenance work Alex had requested on his short list and only had one last thing to complete. As a final part of the maintenance procedures Jimmy had to take the S15 on a test drive. This as mainly to get those engine-cleaning oils to do their jobs.

Jimmy was excited, yet nervous. After looking at that engine and hearing stories about Alex's victories over the last couple of weeks, he was gitty about trying out the car for himself but he was also apprehensive about it. Should he wait for Alex to get off work? It would be hours before he gets back to the garage.

"Problem?" said a familiar voice from behind.

Jimmy looked behind him and saw Suki coming. He was so focused on the engine that he completely failed to notice pull-up the front drive way.

"Uh, no, nothing," replied Jimmy. "It's just that…"

"What?"

"Well, here" Jimmy reached into his pocket and pulled out the to-do list Alex had given him. Suki gave the list a once over and snickered once she read that last item.

"So why don't you go do it?" she asked.

"I just got a close look at this thing and…it's nothing like I've ever seen before. It really is something else. I can't really describe it. I don't know if I should really drive this thing or if I could."

"What do you mean by that? You think this car will be too much for you to handle."

"Suki, last night I finally learned just how much of an amateur I am compared to you guys. A car like this is way out of my league. I know that now."

"Well it's not like Alex wants you to keep the thing. He wants you to learn something."

"What's that?"

"Just get in the car and I'll show you."

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Less than half-an-hour later.

Jimmy and Suki, riding in Alex's Silvia S15, were back at that place with the old and disused warehouses that Jimmy as using as a makeshift slalom course not too long ago. Jimmy parked the car carefully at is usual starting/finishing point.

Suki pulled out a stopwatch that was sitting on the dashboard. "Okay, just do what you do here and I'll time you like the usual."

"Are you sure about this? I mean, Alex told that a simple spin around town was enough." asked Jimmy. Up until now he was driving the car like a normal commuter vehicle and it acted like nothing special. Now Suki was telling him to take the car all the way.

"I'm sure you'll learn something from this. Don't worry about it. Go on my mark."

Jimmy took a deep, apprehensive breath and revved the engine a few times. It roared like some beast impatient to be unleashed. Jimmy shifted into first gear as Suki started to count down.

"Okay, ready in 3…2…1…Start!"

Jimmy floored the gas. The wheel spin was enormous but the tires still provided plenty of grip for the car to shoot of the starting line fast enough to catch Jimmy by surprise. He felt like he was actually pushed back into his seat as the car continued to accelerate. He reached the first corner of the course much faster than he was used to. He put all his training to the test here.

He turned in and the grip alone caught him again by surprise. The car had so much of it. This was far from the usual understeer he would experience with his Golf R32 when turning at high speeds. The S15 had so much of it that Jimmy had to worry more about turning in too far and spinning out. He quickly corrected it and seemed to do a better job at the next corner. The steering, he felt was extremely precise and he found himself trying hard not to over-turn the wheel.

He shifted up a gear and sprinted down the first straight and somewhere down a third of the way Jimmy felt the twin turbos kick in with maximum boost. The sudden bust of power was unexpected and again something he had to adapt to very quickly. Jimmy managed to adjust himself to the power just in time for te next corner where he realized he had to hit the brakes to make that turn.

He shifted down a gear and hit the brakes. Again, Jimmy was caught off guard since as he hit the brakes hard he felt like he had hit a wall. Only his harness prevented him from knocking himself out at the steering wheel. Jimmy recovered from that hard braking but nearly oversteered the car again going into the next turn.

And so it went that Jimmy struggled to control the car all the way from start to finish. By the time he reached the end of his course Suki revealed that his time was no better than what it was with his Golf which struck him as odd considering the obviously superior performance of the car.

"I don't get it," he said. "I was sure I would get a faster time in this."

Suki pocketed the stopwatch away. "That just goes to show you what it means to drive a car you built with your own hands. Alex built this Silvia from scratch and he knows it better than anyone else. He's the only person that can bring out the full potential of this machine and no one else."

"This car…The way it handled, the power from the motor…"

"I was pretty surprised myself during that first race with Bull. This is car really is beyond your average tuner."

"I don't think I can do that run again."

"I don't think it's recommendable. Let's just drive back to the garage."

"Sure."

Jimmy did as was suggested. He eased out of the lot and minutes later was back on the freeway headed back to Tej's garage at a reasonable commuter's pace. For the first few minutes they drove without speaking. Suk had turned on the radio and that kept her entertained for the duration of the trip. Jimmy could care less about the music as he had dozens of thoughts running through his mind.

His mind kept replaying that earlier run through the warehouses. He recalled every sensation including how his muscles burned at the end of the run. The ordeal was physically draining to him and that has never happened before. He wondered if Alex, having had to drive this car regularly, felt the same way. Did he struggle the way he did on that run? Or was he really just that good a driver? Was Alex really the genius driver Jimmy thought he was.

"Hey Suki," called Jimmy.

"Yeah?"

"How long do you think Alex has been a street racer?"

Suki looked thought full for a few seconds. "Well, you don't get that kind of skill and tuning know-how overnight. I'd say he's been doing this for quite a while now. Almost professionally even. In some of the talks I had with him, he's kinda hinted that he's been racing for more than five years."

"You think he's always been that good?"

Suki chuckled. "No way. I mean like he said before. He likes to train you because he said you remind him of what he used to be like when he was younger."

Jimmy gave Suki a curious glance. "You think he meant that."

"Jimmy, as much as racing movies and comic books will have you believe, no one is born with a _natural_ talent to drive. No, Alex did it the old-fashioned way. He learned everything he knows. Just like you Jimmy, he made his own mistakes and found his own weaknesses. He learned from those and developed himself into what he is now."

"You think…You think I'll ever be like him? Will I ever be as good as that?"

Suki gave him a bit of a big sister smile. "Alex thinks so. And so do I."

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Author's note: …Not much to say. Anyway, Alex's big race will come up soon. Keep an eye out till then. As usual please R&R.


	11. Chapter 10

Miami Beach, late afternoon.

If Miami was famous for anything it was the beach. One of the busiest tourist spots in the world, Miami receives upwards of over a million travelers during the holidays. The hotels were first-class as well as most of the company here. Sand, sun, surf, swimsuits, what else could one want?

"Speed," said Alex. "That'll probably be what will decide the race."

"Well, if it's a question of pure power," said Suki, "Then I doubt any of the other competitors can touch you."

At that moment, Alex and Suki were hanging out together at the beach enjoying the setting sun. Alex was dressed modestly in a pair denim shorts, sandals, and a really tacky-looking shirt. Suki, by contrast was wearing a bright red designer two-piece with a floral-decorated, slightly transparent, sarong covering most of her lower half.

Alex's shift at his job was over and now he had about 8 hours to go before the race starts. He came to the road where the race was designated to scope out the place while he could. Jimmy was right. 6.5 miles of straight road. There were only two corners and that was going down the exit and turning left on Biscayne and the other was another left turn exiting Biscayne and back on to I-195. Straight down and back.

It wasn't the classic drag race but it was pretty similar and much longer. The car's top speed will be the key to winning the race. Alex was starting to think that maybe he should've had his stereo removed after all.

"Power isn't everything," continued Alex. "He has a supercharged V8 and that usually gets up to its power band faster."

"But your engine is _torquey_ while his is _peaky_ and this race is all about maintaining a high power band."

"I can maintain high power even with a peaky engine. What I worry about most is the other races. The race will be six of us and having a flexible engine may be safer. And like I said, he can probably reach his peak power faster than my V6."

An engine that is considered "torquey" means that the engine is tuned to have a wide range of power over the gears. This means the engine is tuned that it can maintain its peak power through the revs much better than a "peaky" engine. The advantage is this type of engine is that the car maintains a more constant level of torque over a wider range of RPM and thus maintains top speed much easier without putting too much stress on the engine and the driver's skills.

A "peaky" engine is the opposite. It is tuned to have high power and a narrow band. This means that the car can only achieve its peak power on a small range on the RPM's. "Peaky" engines are harder to use in motor sport since they require the driver to constantly shift gears to keep the engine at that optimum power band through the revs. And usually, missing the narrow power band even in higher revs will cause a drop in torque and power.

Alex preferred keeping his engine "torquey" because it allows him to be more flexible in a race. He can maintain acceleration better and that usually means better handling and faster cornering. It also allows him to be better prepared for any and all surprises that pop-up during a race which happens quite often. And, as he said, it's also more ideal for his twin-turbo V6.

Although he does sometimes tune his engine for specific races. For a straight-up drag race, He usually does tune his engine to be peakier in characteristics. At its highest level his engine can achieve, with the wastegates fully opened and the ECU set just right, is around 700 bph. But when he keeps the engine flexible, he usually has a peak power of around 600 to 650 bhp which is more than enough for most races.

At the moment, he has tuned his engine to around 640 bhp and he is assuming that the weight difference between his car and the rest will make all the difference. He has seen the profile of the other drivers and their cars. Bull's Mustang GT alone is more almost twice the weight of his Silvia S15. The rest weighed less but in terms of power they didn't seem to compete that well with the Mustang and the Silvia.

"The way I see it, it'll come down to weight difference."

"And you have the advantage in that department."

"And as back-up I always have my nitrous system ready. I won't go as far as to say this race is in the bag but, the odds at least look good."

"Don't you have to worry about the other racers?"

"Should I be?"

"And couldn't hurt to have a little info. And I happen to know these guys."

"Ok, then. Shoot."

"OK here's what I know about the other four racers. The first guy is David. He drives a supped up Ford Focus that runs at about 400 horses. Not that much power but his car's not that heavy. He likes to be the one off the line first and block those behind him. He usually does this by using his nitrous kit early."

"Classic maneuvers. But with five other cars to deal with he might find his hands full."

"Probably. Next up is a girl named Paula. She drives a lightly tuned Mazda RX-8. It's equipped with top of the line mods from Mazdaspeed and it's also pretty light. Lighter than your car actually. But lacking in power. Apparently she likes to keep her motor NA."

"She'll probably aim for the two corners as her best bet for winning."

"Up next is a guy named Dean. Aside from Bull, he's who you gotta look out for. He drives a Dodge Viper SRT10 that's packing serious power. Although really the only mods to this car is a new Borla exhaust and some custom wheels. Everything else is stock. Still he might give you some trouble on the straight so watch out for him."

"Got it. What about the last guy?"

"The last guy will be OJ."

"The driver of that red RX-7?"

"Yeah, him. You've seen him and his car around the shop, right."

"Yeah. Dude's got a decent tuned engine. I think he pulls about 400 hp with that single-turbo rotary of his and his car is pretty light. But his nitrous system is what I'm worried about. Guy's always got like a huge tank of the stuff replacing his back seat."

"He's been on a decent winning streak with those. He's learned to use his nitrous to give him some extra boost on short straights and long corners. It's a pretty good technique actually. He's also VENOM's best customer. He's modified his car with a VCN 1000 computerized nitrous system and high flow fuel pumps and injectors. He may be pulling 400 most of the time but when he turns that system on he can beat even you in terms of peak power."

"Well, my car is more than just power."

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Hours later.

The time for the race was almost near. A crowd was already gathering around the nearby area and a party was starting. At a nearby parking lot close to where the race will actually start, people have turned up in their cars and a party atmosphere was quickly building. Less than an hour before race time, the racers are taking this last moment of relaxation to collect themselves. Or in OJ's case, phone numbers.

"Hey there pretty _chicka_," said OJ to a fit-looking woman sitting on the hood of her Mazda RX-8 parked next to his car. "Look, I just wanna say that no matter how this race turns out, I won't be having any bad feelings for you _senorita_."

"Oh I see," said the girl. "That makes me feel better…knowing you're not gonna hate after I win and you lose."

"Oh ho ho ho, kinky. OJ likes it. Of course we can all dream can't we?"

"You can dream of this," she lightly slaps her butt, "as I pass you and leave you in my dust."

"Fair warning _chicka_, my car is not just good looks."

"Well, neither is mine, _idiota_."

By then Suki walked up to the two looking rather exasperated. She had changed out of her two-piece swimsuit and put on a more comfortable but only slightly less revealing one piece designer dress and-knee high boots with assorted jewelry around her neck and wrists.

"Careful girl," said Suki to the RX-8 driver whom she knew to be Paula. "This guy's got a mouth as big as his exhaust but _cajones_ as big as his sparkplugs."

Paula giggled a bit. OJ looked annoyed. "Hey, hey, you you got to be hatin' me, girl?"

"Instead of picking up numbers, why don't you spend your time preparing for the race? Considering your competition you have plenty to worry about."

OJ grinned confidently. "If this is about your new boy, Alex, then I got nothing to worry about from him. Why don't you stop underestimating me and overestimating him already, _chicka_? On the streets anything can happen. Plus, I've gotten a lot better since that _gringo_ left town."

"Alex is a whole new game for even you OJ. Plus I'm not Just talking about him."

"Oh, you mean the yankee in the 'stang? Don't worry, girl, I can definitely take him as well."

"That's what Joaquin said and look where that got him."

Suki started to walk away leaving behind a rather irked OJ. Despite having heard that from Suki and being slightly annoyed by it, he had not lost any of his confidence. Yes. If there was one thing that he could be proud of it was his confidence. OJ was known to be brash and rude for the most part. Some people would call this an overinflated ego. It's a little bit like that by OJ calls it something else. He called it his pride.

You need pride, OJ would tell people. Not just in racing but in any competitive sport, legal or otherwise. It's his pride that keeps him going and earns him the respect he has not just from others but from himself. You have to believe in yourself first and foremost, he would say. Without pride, what will you aspire for? What are your dreams and how can you achieve them? Pride give you meaning, purpose and most importantly, a place in the world where, as long as your pride hold, one will stay firmly. Without this place in the world, you are unrecognized, non-existent. This is what OJ believes.

"Hey wait!" called that girl Paula.

Suki stopped and turned as Paula walked up to her. "What's up?"

"You know that guy in the S15 I'm supposed to race right?"

"Yeah, you can say that."

"I've been hearing stuff about him. I heard he's really good. I want to hear from someone who knows him a little more personally. Is he really that good? Can I beat him?"

Suki smirked. It's only been a couple of months since Alex entered the race scene in Miami and he's already this popular. "Well, I can't really say for certain if you can beat him. I haven't seen how good you really are. And like OJ said this is the streets and you just don't know what will happen."

"Then can you tell me anything?"

"Let's just say…don't expect things to go as you think they'll go. A guy like Alex…has a tendency to surprise people."

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Ten minutes before the start of the race.

This was it. No more delays. With 4,500 dollars buy-in from each of the six racers that made 27,000 dollars on the line. Winner-take-all. Alex liked these kind of races because those taking part don't stand to lose relatively much but stand to win real big. However the race itself was something he wasn't so crazy about. Most people think that a straight line race like this is the easiest kind of race. And it kind of is. You only have to dive in a straight line for most of the race. But despite being one of the simplest types of races it is also the most dangerous.

You see it on TV all the time. Thos shows which feature stunning home videos of spectacular accidents and disasters. Some of those videos shown are often from professional drag races. Anyone who's ever seen a professionally tuned drag racer experience an accident while going at speed will know what kind of dangers even the simplest looking races could have even in a closed course that was built with safety barriers and had paramedics ready, as well cars designed to keep the driver alive even during 200 mph crashers.

This race was nothing like that. This was a street race. Worth noting is the fact that this race is over six miles of nothing but straights with no barriers separating the cars that will have to average about 160 to 180 mph throughout the straights to put up a decent chance of victory. Throw in the unpredictability of the other races and the environment of the road (civilian cars and the like). All that with an almost complete lack of safety precautions. This was clearly a race that wasn't for the weak-willed.

The racers will start in a grid formation of 3 rows with 2 cars each. Bull in his Mustang GT and David in his Focus are on the first row. Paula in her RX-8 and OJ in his RX-7 are on the second row. Dean in his Viper SRT10 and Alex in his Silvia S15 are on the last row.

Bull was the first t line up. He parked his Mustang GT an inch behind the white line on the road. He watched in his rear view mirror as the other cars were coming. He spotted Alex's Silvia among them. He grinned with a hint of both excitement and malice. He decided then and there that this guy would not finish this race with both legs working.

Alex was slowly driving his car to position and spotted Bull already at the line. He knew he had to settle this tonight. He couldn't help but feel that Bull might pull something sneaky. They always do, these guys who are too desperate for a win. Too desperate for a taste of glory. He briefly recalled Jimmy's first race with that guy. He knew he had to keep his wits about him if he planned to survive.

The other racers started to get into position as the organizers of the race started calling on them. There was a crowd gathering around the starting line cheering as the cars went into position. Many of the people in the crowd weren't just audience members however. Races like this are like the derby. Everyone has a favorite they want to put their money on. And that's what some race organizers come after. Somewhere in the crowd was Suki eagerly waiting for the race to start.

"Yo!" called someone from behind her. She looked back and saw Tej, Jimmy and Rome, coming to join her near the start line.

"I was wondering when you'd get here," she said. "Race is about to start."

"Those look like some stiff completion out there," said Rome. "Are you sure your boy can do this?"

"Who knows?"

"Not exactly a confidence builder, are you?"

"The race will go as the race will go. Anything can happen. All we can do is hope for the best."

Across the bridge stretching over the water, several people in parked tuner cars were speaking over cell phones and preparing their cameras for a live broadcast that will be picked up by others through Wi-Fi. At the very end of the track parked close to the intersection of Biscayne was a dude in a truck with a police scanner. While his friends were setting up fake roadblocks to stop any unlikely traffic he listened to the scanner as a dispatcher reports domestic violence call somewhere in the suburbs. The driver smiles knowing this will keep the cops busy for a while. The area was pretty clear then. He calls his buddies to tell them the road was clear.

The party was about to begin.

Back at the starting line, all cars were in position. The crowd cheered as the racers, mostly OJ, revved their engines loudly. The race starter was one of the young girls from the crowd who walked out onto the middle of the road. She stopped right in front of the start line between the two lead cars. She raised her arms up into the air and the crowd cheered on. Somewhere in the crowd, Suki swallowed nervously as she got her cell phone ready to hack into the live broadcast. The race starter girl dropped her arms towards the ground.

Less than ten seconds later, all six of the cars were nowhere to be seen.

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On I-195.

Half-a-mile down the road the cars started to disperse a bit. David in his Focus took an early lead when he hit his nitrous and sped off into the distance leaving a gap of about five car-lengths between him and the runner-up, Bull in his Mustang GT. Bull watched as David's Focus speed away ahead of him and quietly scuffed to himself criticizing the amateurish move.

"You're no challenge," he said then looked at his rear view mirror. "C'mon. Where are you pizza boy?"

A couple of car-lengths behind Bull, Paula and OJ were having their own small battle with their rotary powered machines. Paula had a slight lead over OJ who was easily keeping up with her. She darted her eyes back and forth from the road to her instruments which read that they were going at about 140 mph already. That was worryingly close to her RX-8's top speed so early in the race. Even though she planned to take the race in the two corners she wondered if that was gonna be enough.

OJ in his RX-7 let Paula have this little lead of hers knowing that he could easily pass her when he wanted. He instead chose to concentrate on the other two Racers ahead of him. Bull's Mustang GT was still in sight and not that far ahead. David's Focus worried him as that was barely visible in the distance. He decided to make his move then and there.

"Time to makle some money, baby!" he said to himself.

He flipped a few switches on his dashboard which turned on his all-important nitrous system. He watched as the gauges on his dash hissed to life and showed full tanks of nitrous. He had about three tanks full in the back seat and was planning to used all of it to win.

He pressed the red button on the steering while and his car jetted ahead, much to Paula's surprise, bringing his car up to 160 mph. OJ's RX-7 quickly caught up to Bull and was breathing down the Mustang's bumper. Oj steered to the side and started to pass Bull on the right. Bull saw this.

"No way, José," said Bull as he turned the wheel suddenly to the right.

The Mustang's front bumper managed to clip the rear bumper of the RX-7 as it was about to pass. OJ was caught off guard as his car was thrown into a fish-tail. He instinctively let his foot of the gas and started pumping the brakes a bit. He managed to control his steering wheel and bought himself back into a straight line but not before he was completely passed by Paula, Dean, and Alex. In an instant he fell to last place.

"_Hijo de puta!_" cursed OJ.

Meanwhile Alex in his Silvia S15 and Dean in his Viper SRT10 were facing it out. From the start of the race the Viper maintained a lead over Alex who made seemingly several attempts at passing by weaving from side to side while the Viper simply followed and got in his way. Inside the Viper, Dean was laughing at Alex's pathetic attempts to pass him.

"Is that the beast you can do pal?!" said Dean as he shifted up a gear.

In the S15 Alex grinned confidently. He recognized the moment the Viper shifted gears when a brief burst of flame came from the exhaust. That was the moment he waited for. Alex turned the wheel right slightly enough to make it look like he was going right. At the sign of the first motion, Dean maneuvered his Viper to block Alex but the S15 suddenly veered to the left.

Alex saw that he was clear and made his move. The trick was Alex kept his engine at a high gear and in low revs while keeping up with the Viper. During his opportune moment, Alex quickly shifted down and allowed his engine to get to that peak power very quickly. With a sudden and unexpected burst of acceleration, the S15 rocketed past the Viper and into 4th place. The Viper was still trying to get to its own power band and thus was unable to keep up with the sudden acceleration of the S15.

Dean was forced to watch as Alex sped off into the distance out of his reach. "Dammit!"

His mind was quickly brought back to the matter at hand when he spotted OJ's RX-7 quickly gaining ground on him. He tried to Block him off but OJ was better than that. Dean, compared to everyone else, was the most inexperienced racer in the race. OJ saw through this move quickly and was easily able to devise a plan to pass Dean.

Just like Alex, OJ feinted to one side, Dean's left, and let Dean follow it. Dean took the bait again and OJ simply moved to the right and used the advantage of his abundance in Nitrous to give him a quick boost that allowed him to pass. As OJ was passing him, Dean got really panicky at that point and tried to turn things around. Dean sharply turned the steering wheel to his right in hopes of maybe bumping into OJ's RX-7. However, OJ had already cleared him and Dean found himself driving right into the guard rail of the bridge.

Dean tried to save himself but it was too late. His Viper's front bumper smashed right into the guard rail at over 160 mph and the whole car bounced back and spun multiple times all the way across all the lanes and finally came to rest on the farthest lane to the left. The engine had stalled and Dean, for the most part, was too stunned to operate his vehicle. He was out of this race.

OJ glanced at his rearview mirror to confirm the crash. He shook his head disappointedly. He was expecting more from his fellow competitors. He thundered on, gaining ground on the rest of the pack. Meanwhile, Alex had caught up with Paula. The young lady racer saw his S15 rapidly approaching from her mirrors. By now, the racers have passed the halfway mark on the bridge.

"Looks like the word on the street was true," she said to herself. "This guy is pretty good. But let's see you keep up."

Despite being moderately powered, Paula's RX-8 was nothing to scoff at. That car has brought Paula plenty of victories in the past and she aimed to get another one here. It's light weight and maneuverability is the RX-8's biggest advantage and even in a straight line race with minimal corners like this that's worth something. Unlike Dean, Paula was not an amateur and she knew how to block an opponent as Alex was soon finding out.

Alex went for several feint turns just to see what the RX-8 can do. She met him for every movement of the steering wheel. Alex smirked. "Girl's got game, I see."

Alex hanged back a bit and let her lead. It was still early in the race to be making brash moves. OJ has learned this as well as he seemed to have hanged back a bit content in staying in last place for a while. That maneuver he tried with Bull was still very fresh in his mind. He needed to wait for a better opportunity.

Up ahead, Bull was keeping his tight 2nd place in the standings. He generally ignored what was behind him at the time though he did notice the Viper's crash much to his satisfaction. For now he focused on the guy ahead of him. David's Focus was starting to come into view again, the effects of his early nitrous boost fading fast. Soon enough, it was well within reach.

"Knew you wouldn't be too hard to chase down," said Bull with a wry grin. "Guess that boost was all you had. Now you got nothin' huh?"

He shifted up to his Mustang's top gear and accelerated to 180 mph. He accelerated so fast that he caught David by surprise when the Mustang GT bumped his Focus' rear bumper. The sudden jolt caused David to momentarily loose his wits and control of the car. His Focus started to swerve violently but this was quickly remedied by his car's FWD.

Bull in his Mustang GT grinned. He accelerated again and bumped the Focus slightly harder, not caring whether he was denting his own car (he figured the prize money would more than pay for damages). David was jolted again and nearly spun out. He was getting awfully nervous. In desperation he tried pushing his nitrous button again but since his tanks were empty nothing happened.

The Mustang accelerated again this time hitting the focus hard enough that the rear bumper flew off. David was too panicked and too jolted to gain control and he soon violently spun out. David's Focus ended up hitting the guard rail and the momentum sent the car sliding right up against the metal guard rail sending sparks flying everywhere as metal rubbed metal. He eventually came to a rest just before the exit ramp to Biscayne.

"Two down…" said Bull.

The four remaining racers stormed ahead for the exit ramp to the first of only two corners in this race. By now, Bull was in the lead and Paula in her RX-8 was a close second followed by Alex in is Silvia S15 and then an increasingly nervous OJ in his RX-7. OJ was sort of expecting to see a crash maybe ion the later half but witnessing two before the mid-point of the race was getting to him.

They reached the corner of the exit. Bull slammed hard on the brakes and aimed for the inside of the corner. He experienced a little oversteer and slid a bit towards the outside. This was the angle Paula was looking for as she aimed for the inside of the corner and putting her faith on the high grip of her tires. The RX-8 and the Mustang nearly kissed bumpers as the RX-8 took the lead from the inside. Bull noticed and applied more power to correct his slide. Paula shifted up a gear and tried to put some distance between her and Bull.

Meanwhile, OJ was trying to move up a place in the standings. He applied some boost with his nitrous and over took Alex in his S15 just before the corner. OJ did a Scandinavian flick and put his car into a drift around the corner.

"How do you like that, _esse_?!" haha!" exclaimed OJ.

"Too wide, pal," said Alex. The S15 quickly moved to the outside, turned sharply inward and intersected the RX-7's line across the corner. Using precise throttle control, Alex was able to drift around the corner and end up in front of OJ again, much to OJ's irritation.

Bull had about 500 feet before the next corner came up. Ha had to get rid of the girl before they made the turn. Bull gunned his engine and once again rammed the person ahead of him. The RX-8 was violently shaken from the impact. Paula almost lost of control of steering wheel for a moment there. As soon as she regained her composure she looked at her rear view mirror just in time to see Bull charge at her again.

The impact was much stronger this time and Paula wasn't able to stay composed. She accidentally jerked her steering wheel to the right and spun out the RX-8. Bull turned left to avoid the out of control RX-8 and retook the lead a short distance from the next corner.

Alex was surprised when he found himself coming up against the RX-8 which was going awry just as they were about to reach the next corner. He reacted fast by letting up on the gas a bit then steered to the right violently, clearing the RX-8 by mere inches. He then quickly steered to the left and applied power putting his Silvia into a wide drift that put him in a good position to enter the corner.

OJ came up and took the much clearer right part of the road and didn't even come close to Paula's RX-8. He soon cleared the corner as well and was back onto the final straight.

"Damn you Bull, you bastard," said Alex. "So that's your game, huh?"

As Alex and OJ sped on through the exit and back up onto I-195, Paul somehow managed to regain control of her car and brought it back her intended driving line. She cursed loudly at her luck as she turned at the on ramp and went to the final straight. She knew by now her chances f winner were next to none.

Bull was still maintaining a tight lead with Alex now in 2nd place, OJ in 3rd, and Paula in a far 4th place. A situation OJ was definitely wanting to remedy. "Don't think you can try those moves on me, _gringo_!" he said.

He suddenly moved to the farthest lane and once clear activated his nitrous systems again. He went from 120 to 160 mph in the blink of an eye. Alex was slightly caught off-guard when he noticed OJ creeping past him and headed straight for Bull. Bull noticed this move and was anticipating it from the start. He figured OJ to be just the type to make this kind of move.

"Back for more, 'ey paco?!" said Bull with an excited laugh. As OJ approached Bull quickly moved in to block him. OJ was forced to back off and hit his brakes otherwise he would risk hurting himself and his car. OJ ended falling way behind.

"Now," said Alex as he saw what a wide opening he had. He moved to the farthest lane away from Bull and OJ. Before either of the two drivers could notice him, Alex shifted up a gear and activated his own nitrous system. His Silvia S15 accelerated past 170 mph thanks to the extra boost of the nitrous and was soon ahead of the pack.

"What?!" exclaimed Bull as he noticed Alex's Silvia pass him on the far side of the road. "That son of a--!"

Bull shifted up and accelerated but found it hard to try and keep up with the S15. He seemed to be having trouble reaching his power band. Alex saw this on his rear view mirrors and smirked to himself. Looks like he did decide to tune his engine to be peaky, thought Alex. He shifted up again to top gear and brought his car to an almost untouchable 185 mph.

Bull was now very angry. He decided to go with his own nitrous kit. Only through that would he be able to catch up with Alex now. Of course, he wasn't planning to actually pass Alex yet. Bull's mustang mustered all the power it could pull out. Soon enough the Mustang was nearly bumper to bumper with the S15. Alex noticed and braced himself for what he knew was coming.

"Time to pay you back, pizza boy!" exclaimed Bull as the Mustang rammed into the S15 hard.

This wasn't the first time Alex had to duke it out with a "rammer." He's dealt with them before. The best anyone can do is simply speed up and get a grip on the steering wheel and hope you can get away from the guy. If that doesn't work, sometimes it would be better to just let the guy pass. But this was an opponent Alex couldn't let past him. He needed to kip his grip firm and wait this out. To do so, Alex gripped the sides of the wheel and pushed against it in order to flatten his back against his seat. He also rested his head on the seat so that if he gets rammed again his head won't shoot backwards. He also braced his left foot on the floor under the clutch pedal. He was now in as stable a position as he could get.

Alex figured that bumper of his wasn't gonna last much longer. He could tough this out until the end.

Bull reeled up and rammed into the Silvia once again. The Silvia jolted a bit but ultimately stayed in a straight and narrow. Bull tried again, squeezing out a jet of nitrous into his engine and ramming the S15 which again failed to budge that much. The punishment to his front bumper was starting to show as the flimsy material had already broken off its hinges and was hanging just barely.

Bull couldn't see this and even if he could he wouldn't care too much. He pressed the nitrous button on his steering wheel and once again rammed right into the back of the S15. Alex stayed vigilant and refused to lose control of his car. With that, the Mustang's front bumper was hanging on by its last bolt and so was the rear bumper of Alex's S15.

"C'mon dude," said Alex quietly to himself. "You can do better than that can't you?"

With only a mile left until the finish line, Bull was on his last nerve. The other two were practically out of the running now and it was either gonna be him or Alex. He had to do something and he had to do it then and there. He had no time left to waste.

This time he emptied his nitrous tanks and rammed full-speed into Alex's rear. For a second there Alex almost lost control but he hanged on just enough to keep the car going straight. All he really lost was his rear bumper which fell off from the impact of the crash, almost at the exact same time that the Mustang's front bumper fell off it's last bolt. The two large pieces of fiberglass bounced off the road and while the rear bumper of the S15 went up, the front bumper of the Mustang went down.

The rear bumper flew up and over the hood of the mustang, smashing the front windshield. At the same time, the front bumper went under the Mustang and bumped into the rear wheels causing them to violently jolt upwards. This combination was enough to completely throw the Mustang, and its driver completely out of whack. Bull wasn't able to react in time when his car suddenly slid sideways. While sliding the momentum caused his car to tip to the side and soon Bull found himself in an airborne car.

The Mustang flipped half-way then hit the ground with its roof, bounced off the pavement, and was carried over to two more flips by its own momentum. It finally came down crashing back on all four wheels then spinning out slightly, coming to rest in the middle of the road. The two cars behind Bull, OJ and Paula, narrowly avoided crashing into the wrecked mustang as they caught up.

Inside, Bull was all alive but not exactly fully conscious. However he had enough brain power left to determine that the race was over.

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Back at the finish line.

The crowds have been cheering on as they continuously watched the action on their Wi-Fi connections. But now, as the sound of a rapidly approaching V6 can be heard, they all turned away from their video devices and watched as Alex's S15 crossed the finish line then braked hard, kicking up a cloud of smoke. Alex quickly jumped out of his car and raised his fist in victory.

A crowed gathered around the Silvia in a blink of the eye. Just then, the RX-7 and the RX-8 came in and crossed the finish line, though in a slower, less flashy manner. Still, those two runner-up cars were met with applause and cheer. Paula and OJ slowly stepped out of their cars. Both watched as the crowd continued to congratulate Alex then they turned their sights to each other across the roof of their cars.

"No bad feelings?" asked Paula.

OJ simply looked away, sighed in exasperation, looked back up at her, smirk slightly, and shrugged his shoulders. Paula seemed to have understood the gesture and nodded back at him with a slight smirk of her own. She then looked back towards the man that beat her.

"He really is full of surprises," she said quietly to herself.

Meanwhile Alex was soon met by Suki, who forced her way through the crowds and managed to hug Alex tightly from behind.

"You did it!" she exclaimed. "I can't believe it! You actually won!"

"Can't believe it?" said Alex. "You mean you doubted me? I must be losing my charm."

"So, What are you gonna do with all that cash, boy?"

"Well first, I'm gonna see to that bumper I just lost. And then after that...Tell me, you like eating Italian?"

Suki smiled at him. And gave him a quick peck on the lips before pumping up the crowd a bit more. In the middle of it all, the only thing Alex could think of was how good it was that he picked to go to Miami.

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Author's note: Here's one story arc done. The next one will come soon. There's plenty more in stored for Alex and the gang so keep an eye out. In the meantime, pls R&R!


	12. Interlude 1

Somewhere in the backwoods of Alabama.

It was a quiet night in the woods. Only the sound of the squirrels, owls, frogs, and assorted bugs could be heard at the moment. At least that was what it was supposed to be. Here in a particular spot in the dense oak forest where a long and winding dirt trail, used mainly by a logging company for transport, th silence of the night was broken by the sound of engines.

The dark of the night was pierced by the brightness of high-powered xenon headlights coming from the lead vehicle, a 2007 Subaru Impreza STi, that was kicking up dirt like nobody's business. But this was far from an ordinary Impreza STi. Far from it.

On the outside it's modified with an ACCOLADE Spec RA body kit and 18" Enkei Racing NT03 rims. The stock STi spoiler received added support from 3 Perrin STi Wing STIFFIs that gave it a slight WRC look. In better light, one would be able to easier indentify the two-tone paint job where the hood, roof, and trunk where painted a glossy black and the rest of the car's body was a metallic lime green. The side was decorated with wild, graffiti-style, bright silver zig-zag lines on top of smooth, faded, black lines.

Under the hood, the already impressive STi engine was made more impressive by a rotated turbo kit, intercooler, cat-back exhaust, fuel rail upgrade, and tuned AccessPORT maps from Perrin Performance that bumped the power up to 500 bhp.

The legendary rally-bred handling was improved with a MONO FLEX coilover kit, performance sway bar, tie rods, and pillowball tension rods from TEIN, high performance TOYO competition tires and a Brembo 6-piston STi big brake kit kept that power in check.

Whatever the limit of those performance enhances may be, the driver of the Impreza STi was more than glad they were they. They were proving extremely useful in the driver's situation.

_BANG!!_

A gunshot echoed through the forest. As the Impreza passed by, a tree next to it suddenly lost part of its bark as a bullet impacted it. The source of the shot came from a Glock 17 pistol wielded by a helmeted rider on a Honda CRF150R. Right behind that rider was another such rider on a similar bike. And right behind them was a big Toyota Tacoma that looked to be heavily modified for off-roading.

The driver of the Impreza was aware of the shot but tried to ignore it. It wasn't the first shot of the night and it won't be the last.

The road was long and winding, on top of having minimal grip and next to no visibility due to all the trees covering every bend. The rally-bred technology behind the Impreza STi and the skill of the driver were keeping pace rather well with the road, despite the driver having no familiarity with the road. The two bikers and the Tacoma driver however were finding the road hard to navigate, on top of trying to shoot the Impreza's tires. They were given orders not to harm the driver, but it was clear they were getting desperate.

The lead biker aimed again, trying to go for the left rear tire. He fired twice, missing both times and hitting tree and dirt. The Impreza driver started to get irked by all the shooting as was thinking of ways to possibly get rid of those pursuers. The lead biker aimed again, this time while coming in a little closer. As he was about to fire, a bump in the road suddenly lifted his front wheel, messing-up his aim. He ended up firing 4 perfectly good rounds into the air.

He regained control of his bike and tried to aim again but when he pulled the trigger the gun only clicked in his hand. He stared at his gun for a while wondering if he ran out of ammo or maybe it just jammed. That moment of distraction was spotted by the Impreza's driver in the rearview mirror and quickly slammed on the brakes. The lead biker was too focused on his gun to notice in time the Impreza's drastic decrease in speed and ended up instinctively turning to the side too fast.

The lead biker quickly lost control of his bike and soon found himself thrown off his bike by inertia and rolling off to the side before slamming face-first into a tree that he didn't want to be there. He thanked his rotten luck that he at least put on a helmet as he fell back onto his back, stunned. The Impreza quickly sped away.

The remaining pursuers ignored their fallen comrade and continued the chase. The second biker noted that there was a long, easy, right bend on the road ahead. He hatched a plan and quickly turned his bike to the side and quickly hopped off the road and into the forest and weaved through the dense trees for a short distance.

The Impreza STi took the corner hard as it was coming in at high speed. The driver did the classic Scandinavian flick and drifted all the way around the ling and easy bend. As the car was coming out of the turn, the driver was slightly surprised when the second biker suddenly popped out of the woods and stopped in the road ahead of the Impreza.

The second biker was already drawing and aiming his own Glock 17 when the driver of the Impreza quickly reacted and suddenly turned on the Impreza's high-beams. The headlights blasted a bright white light which bombarded the eyes of the biker in front of the Impreza. The biker forgot about aiming and simply tried to block out the light with both arms.

Using the angle from the drift, the driver of the Impreza aimed for one side of the road and drifted around the blinded biker with what little road on the side was available. As soon as the Impreza passed the biker, it corrected its line and sped off into the darkness.

The biker looked behind him had to watch in frustration as the target got away. But this frustration took his mind away from what was important and he was brought back to reality with a honk of a horn. The biker turned back towards his front and was surprised to find the Tacoma approaching fast. The Biker's eyes went wide and he reacted quickly by abandoning his bike and jumping to the side. The Tacoma didn't even slow down and simply plowed the bike over.

As the Tacoma drew closer to the Impreza the passenger side window of the Tacoma began to open and an arm, holding an Israeli-made UZI submachine gun reached out and aimed at the Impreza. The Impreza driver noticed and started to maneuver out of the gunman's way. Bullets started flying at the ground where the Impreza was.

The Impreza driver glanced at the side view mirror to see where Tacoma was now. The driver didn't get a good chance to see as the side mirror promptly exploded into pieces as coupled of bullets hit it forcing the driver to turn further to the side nearly going off the trail. By then, the UZI was empty and the gunman pulled it back in to reload it. The Impreza driver was now looking for any avenue of escape.

The Impreza sped up in an effort to lose its pursuers but due to the driver's unfamiliarity with the road ahead and the fact that visibility was second to nil the speed was limited by the element of not wanting to crash. But in the distance the driver of the Impreza saw just what was needed to turn this chase around.

In the distance, after a few long bends, was an old saw mill. It was by no means operational and the machinery inside had not seen service in over 20 years.

The Impreza reached the mill in just a few seconds after the driver spotted it. The Tacoma followed a moment later, it's passenger gunner now reloaded and sticking his hand out the window again. The Impreza's driver took note of this and quickly steered into one of the old buildings for cover.

The Impreza managed to turn to the right duck behind one of the large mills just as the gunman opened fire. Bullets riddles the side of the building but missed the Impreza entirely. The Impreza drove inside the long mill as the Tacoma drove parallel to it on the outside. The gunman was taking shots at the side of the building hoping to penetrate and hit the Impreza somehow.

Inside, the driver of the Impreza was narrowly missed by a bullet which penetrated the side of the building and punched through both of the back door windows, littering the inside of the Impreza was littered with pieces of broken glass. The Impreza driver was shaken but was still had plenty of nerve.

The Impreza exited the mill and by that time the gunman had to reload again. The Impreza driver noticed and quickly looked for a means of escape. Conveniently, the means the driver was looking for was just up ahead: A stack of old and empty drum barrels, probably used to hold lubricant for the machinery. The stack was three barrels high, just what was needed.

The Impreza suddenly gained speed as the driver shifted up and activated the car's nitrous system. The men in the Tacoma were caught off-guard by this maneuver. They were even more surprised as the Impreza rammed into the edge of a pile of old drum barrels causing the whole stack to collapse right on top of them.

The Tacoma driver tried to brake in time but instead soon found the truck being bombarded by large drum barrels, one of which completely shattered the front windshield, and another smashing the hood and knocking the radiator and fan belt loose.

After the barrels stopped coming, the driver and the gunman stepped out of their truck to assess the damage. They quickly noted that the damage was severe enough to disable their truck. The driver kicked the front wheel in frustration while the gunman looked into the distance and spotted the Impreza already a long ways away from them.

It was plain to see that they were not catching their quarry tonight.

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In the distance.

The Impreza driver checked the rearview mirrors to see that the Tacoma was no longer coming. The driver breathed a sigh of relief knowing the chase was over. Now all that was left was to get out of these woods. Get out of Alabama and drive further east while there was still time left.

First order of business: Get those back windows and side mirror replaced. Second order of business: warn Alex.

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	13. Chapter 11

Afternoon in Miami.

"So, you're in?" asked Suki to Rome who was in the driver's seat.

They were idly riding along around town in Rome's 'Cuda. He had just tuned his baby up with a new set of shocks which were a direct replacement of his old ones and the drive was mostly to break the new shocks in. Suki was there because she helped him out even though that wasn't her original objective at the start of the day.

Suki had went to visit Rome in his garage earlier that day. Two days before, Rome had a serious talk with Tej about that little team he was building and out of courtesy gave Rome some time to make a decision. Suki came to get his answer whatever it may be although she knew Rome enough that he really didn't need that much time to tell himself that this was an opportunity he would be insane to pass up.

"Sounds tight," he replied. "Real tight. I don't know how he came up wit' this."

"Oh you know Tej. Always looking for the best way to make cash and, of course, get his name around."

"What do Alex and Jimmy say?"

"Oh, they're all for it. So am I. I haven't been racing for a while so I've been looking for the opportunity to improve. The only driving I get to do nowadays is when I'm helping teaching Jimmy. Plus I've been doing too much for my modeling agency lately and they haven't given me too much free time."

"Well, you know I can't pass this up so I guess I'm in."

"Of course you're in. You like cars and money too much to pass this up."

Rome snickered. "Well, you know me, girl."

"Turn left."

Rome looked inquisitively at Suki. "What?"

"Just do it, turn left at this corner."

"But it's a one-way street!"

"I know. Just do it! Now!"

Rome did as he was told. He turned left down a one-way street going the wrong way. An angry old lady in a Camry honked as Rome barely missed scratching the side of her car with his own. Rome drove nervously all the way to the other side of the street where h finally had the opportunity to drive down the right side of the road again. When he did, he looked toward Suki for an explanation.

"Are you gonna tell me what was that for?" he asked.

"Yeah. Look behind us," she answered with a very serious tone.

Rome looked in his rearview mirror and saw a black Toyota Tacoma coming out of the same one-way street he just came out of and started to go in the same direction as they did. Rome's first thought was it might just be a coincidence.

"It can't be a coincidence," said Suki. "Those guys have been following us since we left the garage."

"What?!"

"That's what's been bothering me for a while and now that they actually followed you down that street just now proves that they want to get acquainted with us."

"Like hell they will. I'm loosin' 'em."

Rome checked the road ahead and saw that it was fairly clear of traffic and suddenly gunned the engine. The 'Cuda accelerated form a slow and cruise of about 40 mph to a tire-squealing 90 mph. The Tacoma behind them sped up to try and keep them in sight, as expected.

Rome was able to put some distance between his car and the Tacoma behind them. But this lasted only so long. Just when the Tacoma was about to disappear from the rearview mirror, Rome noticed that traffic was building up ahead due to the fact that road was starting to bottle-neck.

Rome knew that a pick-up truck like the Tacoma would have a hard time matching the speed of even a stock sports car, let alone a tuned one. But he couldn't take advantage of his car's overwhelming power due to the simple fact that there was thick traffic ahead. Soon, Rome was driving around other cars and was being forced to slow down to a speed the Tacoma could easily keep up with.

He needed to think of a way out fast. He looked for options and spotted one in the form of sign on the corner of the street. The sign pointed to a nearby boatyard. Perfect, Rome thought. At that corner he turned and the Tacoma followed suit.

Within five minutes. They were at the boatyard. Rome quickly began his plan of trying to lose the Tacoma by driving his 'Cuda erratically between the rows of boats stacked on either side of them, creating several 'avenues' between them.

Rome performed complicated hairpin turns as he reached the ends of the stacks in hopes of loosing the Tacoma behind them. The Tacoma followed after a second or two and surprisingly was able to do the same maneuver. The driver, Rome decided, was pretty skilled. Suki kept watch while hanging onto the handle bar above her. She also noticed the driver's skill.

"This guy's pretty good," she commented.

"Yeah, but I'm better," said Rome.

At the end of the next row of boats, Rome pulled the handbrake and did what looked like his usual hairpin turn. But that was just the start of it. He continued to pull the handbrake long enough that when he got to the next row he had done a complete 360 degree turn and was facing back in the same direction he was going in the previous row.

A second later the Tacoma showed up expecting to find the 'Cuda facing the other way. They got a surprise when the muscle car was suddenly facing them with its engines suddenly roaring away as Rome shifted down a gear and stomped down on the gas pedal.

The Tacoma broke to the left. Rome noticed and in his quick reflexes broke to his left as well. The two cars grazed past each other with barely an inch to spare between them. The Tacoma ended up facing the wrong direction and unable to pursue while the 'Cuda was primed to make a break for it.

"Yeah!" exclaimed Rome as he looked into his rearview mirror. "That's how we do it in Barstow, baby! Yeah!"

Suki was laughing as well in celebration at the success of Rome's little maneuver. But her faced soo turned serious when she looked down the row they were on and saw that two black, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X's appear out of nowhere and blocked their path.

"Rome, watch out!"

Rome brought his eyes back onto the road and spotted the impromptu road block ahead. He slammed on the brakes and stopped the 'Cuda less than ten yards from the Evo X's. The moment they stopped the driver's of the two cars stepped out brandishing very intimidating Israeli-made Jericho .45 pistols. Both Suki and Rome swallowed nervously.

"You think we can still back-up?" asked Rome.

Suki looked out the back window. "Don't think that's an option anymore."

Behind the 'Cuda, the Tacoma had reoriented itself and was now blocking the last way out for them. The driver and the passenger stepped out, both carrying 9mm Uzi submachine-guns.

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Just under two weeks have passed since that fateful race on I-195. Even so, the buzz hasn't died down. Alex was enjoying a spot of fame now that he's established himself firmly in the underground racing scene. Bull and his crew on the other hand had skipped town, deciding that there were better prospects somewhere else.

Alex had taken to his new-found fame quite humbly. He spent most of the week simply repairing the damages to the Silvia and continuing with Jimmy's training. By now Alex had finished his stint as a pizza boy and has decided to work for Tej as a full-time mechanic and Jimmy personal racing instructor.

On top of all that, He and Suki had started going out officially. A couple of days after the race, he took her out to dinner and the two have been an item ever since. No surprise to Suki's friends as they have already hinted in the past that Suki has had a thing for Alex for quite a while now. This was however a surprise to every other suitor that went after Suki, and there were plenty.

Alex seemed to be on top of the world, yet he didn't feel like it.

"Yo, are you ok, dude?" asked Jimmy.

Alex snapped out of the trance he was in as he was looking over the engine of his car which was undergoing some tune-ups and was therefore disabled at the moment. He turned towards Jimmy who was looking at him curiously.

"What do you mean?" asked Alex.

"You've been looking zoned out lately. And I called on you like five times already."

"Oh…it's, uh, nothing just…"

"Just what?"

Alex was at a bit of a loss for words. He tried to put together a phrase or sentence in his head to tell Jimmy how he felt but the stuff he came up with was only gonna make Jimmy think he lost his marbles.

"Well…Do you know that feeling you get when you know a storm is coming?" said Alex.

Jimmy looked a bit confused. "Sort of. You feelin' something like that?"

"Kinda."

Many animal show will tell you that some animals, through unexplained methods seem to have a latent sense which allows them to detect a coming of a natural disaster just like the way cats and dogs tend to seek cover just before an earthquake. Some scientists believe that humans have a similar capacity that is only a bit subdued by the evolution of logical thinking. Many people simply describe it as "getting a bad feeling" about something.

Alex couldn't explain it any other way. He simply had a bad feeling that there was a storm coming. Now he only wished he knew what it was.

"Well, whatever, man," said Alex. "I'm sure it's nothing."

"Alright, if you say so."

"Watch the floor for me, I'm gonna go take a leak."

Alex moved away from his car and walked towards the comfort room a few steps away. Jimmy looked on in confusion still wondering what all that talk about a coming storm or something like that was all about. This was really the first time he's seen Alex act this weird. Still it might really be just that it was a bad feeling due to something he ate at lunch. Better to just forget about it.

Jimmy turned around and headed for the door that lead to the front desk where there was a small lounge from which he might get a drink from. But just before he was about to reach the door, it suddenly opened up in his face and he literally had to jump back to avoid being hit by the door. Jimmy took a moment to collect his bearings. When he did he noted the presence of a newcomer.

Bursting from the door looking as if she just ran a marathon was a young woman looking around twenty or so as Jimmy guessed. Her attire was a curious mix. From the bottom up, she wore white sneakers with bright pink laces, shaggy looking, baggy, blue denim pants, a plain white blouse under an old, plain olive green army jacket adorned with dozens of assorted patches sewn onto it that ranged from car manufacturers to cartoon animals. Her face was very plain with a light complexion and her neck-length, dark brown hair was unkempt.

Jimmy stood there simply examining the girl like an oddity that fell from space. She hasn't seem to have noticed his presence yet.

"Um…can I help you?" he asked politely.

She turned to him with a kind of surprised look on her face. "Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to bust in like that. I was in a hurry."

"Ok…What are you in a hurry for?"

"I'm looking for a guy."

"Um…well…uh…don't take this the wrong way or anything but I'm kinda in the middle of some important training right now to improve some driving skills of mine and, to be honest, I sorta have this one-track mind so I don't really have time for--"

"No!! That's not what I mean! I'm looking for a specific guy."

"Well, I'm not trying to tell you what's best for you but I don't think that most women today can afford to be picky especially if--"

"No, no, no!! Stop! You're not getting me! I'm looking for--"

Just then Alex walked back onto the floor. "Yo, Jimmy, I think we got a problem. I just noticed that were kinda running low on paper in the--"

He spotted the girl and did a double-take. The girl also did a double-take when she saw him for the first time today. Jimmy simply stood there confused as ever.

"Kate?!" blurted our Alex.

"Alex!!" exclaimed 'Kate' just as she charged at him and tackled him to the floor.

Jimmy had to jump back again as she did this. He watched as the strange girl hugged Alex tightly while he himself was losing oxygen and turning blue while struggling (hopelessly) to get up off the floor. Kate snuggled to him like she was snuggling as giant stuffed animal.

"Oh, my God!" exclaimed Kate. "It's so good to see you again! It's been so long, man! How you been?"

"That's great, Kate," he said in a struggling voice, "now please get off me!"

Kate looked and noted that she was just short of breaking his arms and ribs. She turned red in embarrassment and quickly let go. They both got off the floor and dusted themselves off. Alex rubbed his own arms to try and make the sore feeling go away.

"Sorry. Forgot about that little habit of mine."

"And you wonder why you're not in a relationship."

She stuck her tongue at him in response and Alex simply rolled his eyes. Jimmy just stood there dumbfounded. The two eventually noticed the young mechanic/amateur street racer simply staring at them.

"Oh, right! Uh, Jimmy…meet Kate," said Alex while gesturing to the girl. "Kate, meet Jimmy."

"'Sup?" said Kate.

"Ummm…Yeah, hi," replied Jimmy. "So…when you said you were looking for a guy."

"Yup. I was looking for this ugly mug right here," she said as she framed Alex's chin with her hand which he promptly pushed away.

"I see," said Jimmy though still obviously confused. "So, Alex…does Suki know about you two?"

"Suki?" asked Kate.

Alex turned to her. "A girl I'm dating." He then turned to Jimmy. "No, Jimmy she's just a close friend of mine."

"You're dating now?" asked Kate.

Jimmy turned to her. "Yes he is." He turned to Alex. "What do mean your friend? I've never met her before."

"Does she have a good-looking sister?" asked Kate, with a wry smirk.

Jimmy was about to say something but caught himself and gave Kate a curious look. She simply shrugged and Alex sighed exasperatingly.

Alex turned to her. "No, she doesn't but I might introduce you to her friends later." He turned to Jimmy. "You've never met her before because she isn't from around. She's an old friend of mine from my old hometown. She's like a little sister to me. Come to think of it…" he turned to her again. "Why are you here, Kate? Moreover, how did you find me?"

Kate's face turned serious. "Oh, crap! I almost forgot! Alex, you're in trouble. _We're_ in trouble. They just decided to go after you first."

Alex's face lost all humor in it. When she said "they" it was already clear in his mind who she was referring to and _they_ were nothing but bad news. Fear was what clarified everything in his head. There were few things and few people Alex was afraid of. No his greatest fear has been realized. The storm has indeed arrived.

"Me? Us? In trouble? What for?"

"They're here too. They're looking for you and it was only thanks to luck that I found you first. If they get to you--"

"Wait a minute!" exclaimed Jimmy. "What's going on here? Who's after who exactly? And why would you guys be in trouble in the first place? What did you do?"

Kate and Alex looked at each other then back towards Jimmy. "It's a long story," they said simultaneously.

"Still," Alex turned towards Kate again. "How could they find me? We both left no tracks when we left California behind. We both started over from scratch. And also there can't be a "they" anymore. The authorities wiped them out during that incident, seized all their assets. They should've been gone already."

"I know," replied Kate. "But you know how _he_ is. He's crazy but not dumb. He was able to rebuild his old crew. They're not as big as they were before but they're making up grounds by the day. And he never forget what we did to him."

"That wasn't our fault. We were narc'd out just like him and his crew. Only we had the sense to bail out while we were ahead. He still blames us for that incident?"

"You know how he thinks. He's always blaming us for all the crap that comes his way."

"That rat bastard. He just won't quit."

"Excuse me!" exclaimed Jimmy wanting to get back into the loop. "Exactly _who_ are we talking about here."

Kate broke it down for him. "Basically some mobster wannabe who Alex and I happen to be acquainted to. There was an incident sometime back that caused his little group to collapse and him to loose big-time. He blames me and Alex for it even though we lost almost as much as him in the incident."

"And this guy who's after you, he's here you say?"

"Yeah, he is."

"And how did that happen?" asked Alex. "We covered our tracks. He shouldn't be able to find us."

"I don't know how he found you out. I only knew you were in Miami after I paid off the snitch he used. I tried to get to you before he and his crew did so that I could warn you."

"Well, you're here. You've warned me. Now what?"

"Do you have any friends, he can exploit?"

"Well, Tej is out right now and I don't think they can get to him, where he's at. Jimmy's right here. Suki and Rome are--"

At that exact moment, Alex's cell phone rang. He quickly fished it out of his pocket. He looked down at the caller ID and it said that it was Suki calling. Alex looked towards both Jimmy and Kate nervously before answering.

"Hey, babe, what's up?"

"Sorry tiger," came a man's voice. "She can't come to the phone right now."

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Somewhere else in the city.

In some non-descript, closed down parking garage, Suki and Rome were both sitting inside the 'Cuda with guns pointed at them. The Two Evo X's and the Tacoma were parked surrounding them. The man with Suki's cell phone was the same man who sat in the passenger seat of the Tacoma. Needless to say, both Suki and Rome were pretty surprised when these gun-toting weirdoes apparently knew Alex. Suki for one can't imagine Alex hanging out with these kinds of people.

"I wonder how these guys know Alex," said Rome. "Doesn't seem like his crowd."

"These guys aren't his friends, that I'm sure off," said Suki.

"Got that right. I think they're pissed at him. But what did Alex ever do to them?"

Suki didn't reply back at that. Because it was that moment when her memory kicked in. She remembered that night when he first took her out to dinner. She asked him why he came to Miami when it was obvious to her he wasn't exactly a native of Florida. Then, he answered, honestly, that he had little choice in the matter. He told her, honestly, that he had a past he'd rather forget. That there were things that he did that he was far from proud of. That there were bad circumstances that forced him to leave behind his old life and start over.

He was honest with her and she was able to tell. Furthermore, she was impressed by it. Few people have ever been this honest with her, let alone people she had feelings for. So she told him, honestly, that she didn't care what he did. That she, honestly, couldn't care less what life he led before coming to Miami. She knew he was a good man and that was enough for her. So whatever he did she forgot about it. Well, during that night after dinner she forgot about a lot of things but that's a different matter.

She never expected his past to catch up with him. Alex probably didn't either.

The guy using her phone finished up their conversation. He walked to the 'Cuda and tossed the phone back to Suki. she caught it and pocketed it away. The man leaned in.

"Sit tight, you're boyfriend's coming soon. Then he and Virgil can have a little talk about certain…debts."

"…_Virgil_?" she asked.

"You'll know soon enough." He then walked away, leaving Suki and Rome to their questioning thoughts.

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Back at Tej's garage

Alex pocketed his phone and looked back at Jimmy and Kate. "They've got Suki and Rome. They jumped them while they were driving around."

"Crap, they already know who you're friends are!" said Kate.

"Doesn't matter now. We have to help them. He's asking us to meet with them. No doubt _he_ will show up there to."

"That guy who you said was bad news? asked Jimmy.

"Yeah, that guy. Jimmy listen. I need you to stay here and wait for Tej. Tell them about the situation. He'll probably have something for use to use."

"No, wait," said Kate.

She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a USB Flash disk. She held it out for Jimmy to take then said: "If something happens to us, use the data in this disk and send it to the cops, the FBI, the NSA, the Salvation Army, I don't care. Make sure that if something goes wrong this data goes to the authorities."

Jimmy took the Flash Disk and observed it curiously. Alex looked towards Kate. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Well, that makes two of you," said Jimmy. "What is it?"

"Evidence," declared Kate. "If we go down that bastard is going down with us. I've been keeping that close to me for all this time in case I needed a bit of leverage."

"Remind me never to piss you off," said Alex. "Alright, we have to get to them. Problem is my car is unavailable."

"Then we'll take mine. It's out front."

"Great." Alex turned to Jimmy. "Jimmy, I'm counting on you to hold the fort for a while."

"Got it, bro," he replied, though with only a slight hint of uncertainty. He had yet to fully understand the situation. But right now he felt that all he needed to understand was that his friends were in danger and he trusted Alex, even if his friend seemed a bit quirky.

Alex and Kate both rushed out of the garage with a sense of urgency. By the time they left, Jimmy was already on the phone trying to reach Tej. Kate took the lead and Alex followed her as she made a beeline for her car parked outside.

"Nice to see you still kept the Impreza," said Alex as he got into the passenger seat.

"Are you kidding? I wouldn't trade this baby for anything else." Kate got in the driver's seat and started the engine.

The two-toned black and lime green 2007 Subaru Impreza STi roared to life and soon shot off down the road.

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Author's note: Been a while huh? Well, here's an update already. Hope you all still find this interesting. Things will heat up soon so stay tuned for more action to come.


	14. Chapter 12

Somewhere in the city.

The two-toned black and green Subaru Impreza passed by traffic with barely notable urgency. The driver, Kate, has been driving on the streets long enough to know how to travel fast while still staying under the speed limit. A skilled driver and an expert street racer, Kate knew that when driving idly like this it was key not to attract attention anymore than one can afford (and with cars like these they attract enough attention already). Authority figures tend to ruin things when one doesn't need them.

And while she can always use here feminine charms to get out of a ticket in the worst cases (which she really hates doing) better to prevent a fire before it started. Besides, they weren't in a hurry yet despite what one might think of the situation.

"You sure your friends will be fine?" asked Kate to Alex who was quietly sitting on the passenger seat.

"They won't hurt them," he said. "I'm sure of that."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because _he_ can't afford us being dead. He needs us. That's what this whole thing is about. He thinks he can use my friends to use as leverage."

"Well, if he doesn't want us dead for what happened during that incident, then what does he want us for?"

"I have a pretty good idea."

Kate looked curiously at Alex for a while before deciding to turn her attention back to the road though she still kept wondering about what he meant by that. Kate continued to drive for a few more moments before her thoughts started to connect in her own head. Her eyes slowly widened in realization as he mind filtered down all the possible answers to just one.

No way. She was trying to tell herself that it can't be _that_ reason. But then it made sense. This was Alex of course and that Silvia S15 of his…

Yes. That Silvia. Kate knew that that car was no mere street racer. Back in the day, when they were all still together that Silvia meant more than just a simple racing machine. No, it was built with a specific purpose in mind. That one-of-a-kind, super-powered, hi-spec engine they swapped in, which took months of tuning to perfection as well as all of the other modifications to the suspension, the engine management systems, the drivetrain, and the exhaust were aimed at a specific goal.

All that time and resources were spent to build the ultimate road car for another _ultimate_ goal.

No way. But that had to be it. There was no other explanation that would fit the situation. This was what _he_ was after from them. He plans to use them for _that_ in order to get all hi lost money back.

"I see you figured it out, huh, Kate?" he suddenly asked her.

"Yeah," she said, "I think I know now what he's up to."

"There's no doubt about it in my mind now. What this means for us is that we're pretty much okay for the moment. But at the same time he'll probably try to use our "debt" to him as an excuse to boss us around. Other than us, he's the only one else who knows what the Silvia was built for."

"Gotta admit, he is a clever bastard."

"Yeah, but he's not that clever. We'll play along with his little game for now. Maybe we can earn some cash on the way. But right now I just wanna make sure Suki and the others will stay ok. I have to make sure she's ok; I can't let her get hurt."

"Understood you on that."

They continued on, the parking garage they were told to go to was only a couple minutes away now. It won't be long before they reach it and start these so-called negotiations. They both expect them to be one-sided considering who they were dealing with but that was part of the plan for now. Assuring the safety of Suki and the others was their top priority for now.

That was when Kate started a new train of thought. He thought back to that little meeting they had in the garage a short while ago. Kate was particularly surprised and made curious by one particular point in the conversation. Despite the urgency of the situation she felt compelled to ask anyway.

"Soooo…" she droned catching Alex's attention again. "This girl we're going after. She really your girlfriend?"

Alex hesitated in answering. Somehow Kate was not surprised. She knew of Alex's earlier attempts at a relationship with a significant other. Back home, Alex was a bit of a notorious flirt, charming just about any girl that catches his fancy. Sometimes we would date someone for a while but in terms of relationships they all pretty much crash and burned simply because Alex could never find someone who he could get in sync with. At one point he even considered flirting with Kate herself but that was quickly resolved once they have both established that Kate had…alternative tastes when it comes to love. Though that didn't stop them from being close friends, principal reason being they were both passionate about cars and racing.

This was different though. This girl he's supposed to be dating now. There was something about the way he referred to her. Kate had never seen him so serious about a girl…ever.

"W-Why would you ask me that all of a sudden?" he shot back almost defensively.

"I mean, you seem really serious about her."

Alex didn't reply to that and simply tried to avoid her eyes. Kate probed his expression a bit more in between glances towards the road. She could see that he was slightly blushing.

"Holy crap, you ARE serious about her, aren't you?!" she suddenly exclaimed. "I can't believe this!"

He turned towards her. "Why? Is that a problem?" he said, again in a defensive manner, almost like he was objecting something.

Kate started to giggle a bit. "Oh man, if only Ol' Joe could see you now!"

"Lay off me will ya', Kate!"

"Hey, is she older than me?"

"Huh?"

"I mean if she is, she can, like, be the older sister that I've always wanted but never had, ya' know! That kinda stuff!"

"Will you just quit it, already!?"

Kate continued to giggle uncontrollably.

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Back at the parking garage.

The mood there was not as upbeat. Suki and Rome were trying to make themselves as comfortable as possible in their seats but that's hard when you have at least three gun barrels pointed at you, Rome especially since he found himself quite worried about his car as well. Those candy purple paint and custom racing stripes were not cheap. Both Evo X drivers and the passenger of the Tacoma were still training their guns at them. The driver of the Tacoma was on a look-out.

"You think these guys are in the mob or something?" asked Rome.

"Don't think so," replied Suki.

"Why's that?"

"The Mob would be a little more professional than this. Tailing us like that with a car that stands out too much. That Tacoma looks like it belongs in an Animal Planet show. And those Evo X's aren't Mafia standard. No, those things are tuned, street racers."

Rome took a better look at the two Evo X's that blocked them in earlier. Suki was right. They were subtle at first due to the stock body kit but there were signs of tuning. What was obvious from a distance was the simple dark gray digital-style, vinyl graphics and new exhaust tips. What wasn't so obvious was the fact that both cars were tuned with RC Developments Evo X Stage 2 tuning packages which included a Cat-Back Twin Exit Exhaust System, De-Cat Pipe, Apexi Induction Kit, Apexi AVC-R Electronic Boost Controller, ECU Remap using EcuTek Software, and Uprated Fuel Pump.

All the modifications to the Evo X's essentially boosted the power of the cars to just over 300 bhp at the wheels as well as improve overall engine performance. A perfect complement to the Evo X's renowned handling systems.

The Tacoma itself was no slouch of a soccer mom's car. The plain metallic black Tacoma featured a TRD Supercharger and Headers, K&N Cold Air Intake, and Borla Dual Exhaust, under the hood. The suspension was modified with a 6" Trailmaster Suspension Lift, 3" Coilover Suspension Lift, and 3" ProComp Body Lift. All of which are greatly accentuated by 36" X 15.5" Baja Claw Tires.

"Yeah, you're right," said Rome. "That truck doesn't look like from around here."

"I don't think any of these guys are natives," said Suki. "They don't feel like they're from around here."

"They want Alex, right? Alex is an out-of-towner too. Maybe these cats are all from the same hood, or something."

"Maybe. Whatever the case, they seem to be bad news."

"We gotta bail outta here somehow."

"They've got us surrounded so I don't think we have that many options."

"It's not just us, Alex too. He's the one they're after. We better think of something before he--"

Just as Rome was about to finish his sentence, they were all able to hear a rumbled of an engine approaching. From the sound of it they could tell it was a relatively small engine, probably a 2.0L four banger. Seconds later a black and green Subaru Impreza appeared from the entrance ramp and parked in the middle of the lot, its engine quickly quieting down as the driver turned the ignition off.

The four guys with guns were obviously nervous as the car approached and came to a stop where everybody can see it. Suki noted that the guys almost completely ignored them at the arrival of the Impreza. Perhaps they know the car and the driver? Heaven knows this was the very first time she saw the car. She observed the car more closely.

She liked the styling quite a bit. The black and lime green paint scheme provide nice contrast with each other. The graffiti-style stripes versus neat stripes also nicely contrasted. From the aftermarket stickers showcased on the hood of the car, Suki could pretty much guess with high accuracy that the are was a serious racing machine built to go fast and not much of anything else.

Rome got the same idea. He whistled in awe. "Nice ride."

The passenger side door of the Impreza opened and Alex stepped out and met the glares of all the gun-toting men there. A ray of hope fluttered through Suki's heart for a second and she couldn't help but smile at his image. Two seconds later the driver of the Impreza, a young woman, stepped out and shyly confronted the men. Suki's smile disappeared in an instant and she glared at the girl with a "who-the-hell-are-you-you-skanky-little-#$%&!?" look on her face.

Alex turned towards the 'Cuda immediately and checked on Suki and Rome. Both seemed alright but he was perplexed at that look on Suki's face. Alex immediately tried to walk towards the 'Cuda, only to be stopped by one of the Evo X drivers. The Evo X driver pointed his gun right at Alex's head and explicitly ordered Alex "Don't take another step."

"You better get that outta my face before I shove it down yours," said Alex in a very intimidating tone.

He caught Suki and Rome giving him a worried look. He gestured with his hand as if to ask them to not worry. He glanced back at Kate to see if se was fine. She was still next to the Subaru but being watched closely by the passenger of the Tacoma who was carrying the Uzi. By the looks they were giving each other, Alex couldn't help but think that they had encountered each other before.

Alex turned back to the man pointing the gun to his head. The man looked nervous as if he never heald a gun before. Probably the case too.

"You're not really in a position to make threats here, boy!" said the Evo X driver.

"Actually it's the other way around," said Alex. "If you shoot me now, I guarantee you your boss is gonna be majorly pissed at you. So better put the damn gun away."

"Shut up, you. You've caused us too much trouble already back in Vegas."

"We did our Job. I didn't want the Job and you guys pressed us into it at gunpoint but we did the job as promised. If you hadn't been so damn late in the pick-up--"

"I said zip it! Sit tight for now and shut up. Virgil will be here in a while."

For a short moment after that, Alex and the Evo X driver simply stared each other down. But then the sound of an engine can be head coming. Everybody craned their heads to the direction of the sound wondering who it was. But for Alex, who practically put himself to sleep with the sound of engines, recognized the sound instantly. That low and raspy rumble of a big, professionally tuned 5.0L V10 was hard to mistake. Seconds later the source of the sound came slowly rolling from the entrance ramp:

A black 2006 Hamann M5.

The car started life as an ordinary BMW M5 saloon built for luxury but it was transformed into one of the most powerful and uncompromising sports cars on the road. Tuned by renowned German tuning company Hamann with sports-kit composed of high-performance headers, sports metal catalysts, a engine map optimization and a Vmax-override. The 10-cylinder engine then produces a potent 603 hp of power and 574 Nm of tourqe, and complemented with a suspension lowering kit with progressive-action suspension springs, new aerodynamic bodykit, sloted and inner vented brake discs with 8-Piston caliupers, and 21" Hamann Race Edition wheels, it was a road machine like no other.

As for styling, the car featured custom airbrushed Giger-style artwork painted on the driver side of the car depicting mean-looking alien elements that can be seen through ports on the car's body making it look like the car was some kind bio-mechanical monster waiting for its immense power to be unleashed on the tarmac.

Alex recognized the car in one glance and so did Kate. As the M5 came to a stop and ht engine turned off, a heavy atmosphere seemed to have fallen onto the general area. The door opened and the M5 driver stepped out.

He was a tall man, middle-aged man looking to be in his early thirties. Standing in the light, he looked like a handsome, respectable man, well-trimmed and nicely dressed, if only to hide his true nature. He was dressed in an informal business attire comprising of black leather shoes, trousers, a white shirt, and a black sports jacket over it. He also wore dark brown leather driving gloves.

His had good looking features on his face which showed extensive cosmetic care and his deep dark brown eyes which were hidden behind designer sunglasses. His short golden blond hair was styled in a pompadour cut. His fair skin pretty much indicated he wasn't from around here and that was compounded by his noticeable Ukrainian accent when he spoke.

"Alex, my old friend, it's been a while," he said.

Alex faced him and smirked. "Yeah it has but that's an interesting way to greet me, considering I was never your _friend_, Virgil."

Virgil snickered. "Oh come now. We've know each other long enough. That counts for something. I mean, we know so much about each other."

"You only knew enough about us to blackmail me when you want to," said Kate, entering the conversation briefly.

Virgil turned to her. "And your knowledge of me is no different?"

"Enough of that," said Alex. "Virgil, I know what you want us here for," Alex started moving toward Virgil in a confronting manner. He was stopped immediately by the Evo X driver. "Hold it, you!"

"Man, you are really asking for it!" exclaimed Alex.

Virgil stepped towards them and placed a hand on his lackey's shoulder. "That's enough! Stand down and let me handle this. Watch the others."

The Evo X driver got the message immediately and backed off, flashing Alex one last look of hostility. Alex ignored it and turned towards Virgil who was now just three feet in front of him, way too close for his comfort.

"Okay, Alex, why am I here then? What do I want from you?"

"That money you never earned, that's what," Alex said defiantly without a hint of hesitation.

"Never earned?" Up until now, Virgil had kept a pleasant, friendly expression on his face. But at the mention of that last sentence, his tine and look changed drastically. Now his face showed only malice that was barely being kept under control. "Do you have any idea how much I sacrificed to get that money?"

"Of course I do. _We_ were part of those sacrifices, jackass!" Not wanting to be intimidated, Alex kept his bold stance.

"We were lucky to escape with our lives!" interjected Kate again. "If you're gonna plan something that big, do it right at least!"

The guy with the Uzi pressed the barrel of his gun against Kate's cheek. She didn't flinch and kept a brave face. Alex quickly raised a hand to signal Kate to cool it. While she had a point, he didn't want to piss off Virgil so much that the situation will go out of control. Granted neither side had any liking for each other, that didn't mean there wasn't a chance at civility here. Plus he knew Virgil well enough.

"Trying to intimidate us here is useless, Virgil." Alex didn't change his tone. "You won't harm us here. You can't afford to."

"Is that so?"

"You want your money back. You need us for it." Alex moved in a foot closer. "This is about _Ultimate Street_ isn't it?"

Alex smirked Wryly when he saw Virgil's slightly surprised reaction. "You catch on quick, boy," said Virgil.

"Of you said, I know you too well, _my old friend_. Someone like won't walk away after losing that much cash. You want it back but you can't get it back the way things are. However you're right in thinking you might be able to _win_ that money back through me. Through _us._"

Alex started chuckling at Virgil's expense. "You _need_ us. We're the only hope you've got at getting out of this rut you're in."

Virgil wasn't intimidated. "You're one to talk."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You think you can play yourself the saint here? You think I don't know about your plots against the people who rubbed out that old man of yours?"

Now it was Virgil's turn to smirk as Alex's confident look faded fast. Kate's expression also took a nosedive. She clenched her fist tightly in anger.

"You asshole!" she exclaimed. "You got no right to talk about him like that!"

Virgil turned to her. "I knew that man just as well as you did. Don't think you two are the only ones with a stake on him." He turned back to Alex. "I know that all this time you have always been aiming for _Ultimate Street,_ Alex. You've always plotted against the people who've been running it because of what they did to your old man. Problem is you could never get a sponsor, could you? There are too little people in this world who can recognize your talents. So don't pretend I'm not doing you a big favor as well."

Alex didn't reply and a tense silence enveloped the space of the parking garage.

None were more confused than the two people sitting in the 'Cuda. Suki had been listening to the conversation pretty closely. She can surmise that these guys all have a deep rooted history together and it's all clashing back together at that moment in time. Alex was none too happy about it and that Virgil guy didn't seem all too pleased either. But from the looks of thing, none of them have many options.

She was also starting to figure out what her role in all this was. This Virgil guy was probably planning this for a while and he wanted leverage on Alex so he decided to try and take his friends hostage. She was just a trump card for him. That didn't sit too well with her.

"I think we understand each other then," said Virgil, finally breaking the silence. "Of course if that is not enough motivation I can promise you that If you won't accept my deal, I'll find deep satisfaction in ruining both you and your friends over there. And also that little garage you started working for."

Alex narrowed his eyes. "If you dare, I'll forward all the evidence we have on you and make sure you go down, Virgil."

"Well, I supposed that's fair enough. But you should know that If I go down I'm taking you all with me. And neither of us wants that now do we?"

Virgil reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out two things: a small SD memory card inside a semi-clear plastic case and a brand new Nokia N73 cell phone.

"Hang on to these," said Virgil holding them out.

Alex took them with some hesitation.

"We'll keep in touch." Virgil flashed Alex a quick wink before turning around and walking back to his car. He waved to his men to signal them that the meeting was over. They all got the hint and holstered their guns then walked back to their own respective vehicles. The Evo X's were the first to go, followed quickly by the Tacoma. Lastly, Virgil stepped into his M5.

The M5's big V10 rumbled to life and as soon as Virgil stepped on the gas pedal, his rear wheels smoked. A moment later he was gone and a good distance away.

The moment the coast was clear, Suki quickly stepped out and rushed to Alex's side. Alex was also on the same frequency as he also started moving towards her. They met halfway with Suki pulling him into a tight hug. Rome also stepped out and moved towards the couple, wanting to get rid of that imprisoned feeling after being held at gunpoint like that.

"Are you guys ok?" asked Alex.

"Yeah, we're cool," replied Rome.

"Good. I was really worried about you guys."

Suki backed away from him so that he could talk to him. "So was I. I was afraid those guys were gonna shoot you or something."

"It's ok for now. They won't harm us yet."

"But still what's going on here?"

"Long story. I'll tell you guys once we get back to the garage. Tej will probably be there with Jimmy by now. I need to tell him about this as well."

Alex then turned to the side and spotted Kate standing a few feet away. He noticed that she was checking out Suki with a very contemplative look on her face. Suki slowly raised an eyebrow and looked at the strange woman like she was looking at a mental patient. Alex was simply rolling his eyes.

"This the girl your dating?" Kate asked Alex.

"Yeah," he replied.

There was a long pause. Kate gave Suki another once-over then finally tuning to Alec with an approving smile and an outstretched hand with a thumbs-up.

"Good job, dude," she said.

Alex sighed exasperatingly. He remembered after all that Kate was always known for the fact that she rarely showed maturity.

"Um, who is she?" asked Suki to Alex. And by the look of her face, she was demanding a proper explanation.

Alex snapped out of it. "Oh, um, this is Kate, an old friend."

The girl in question stepped closer to the group and extended a hand out. "Kate Williams. Nice to meet you."

Suki politely took it. "Suki. Suki Aiko."

Rome then extended his hand to her which Kate took graciously. "Roman Pearce. Call me Rome. Nice to meet you too."

"Suki and Rome. Got it. I'm sure we're all gonna get to know each other a lot better. Seems like I'll be hanging out here for a while."

"You're staying in Miami?" asked Rome.

"Well you saw what happened back there. This situation has gotten from bad to worse and I'm afraid that looks like you guys have been caught up in our problems. So I can't leave until we sort this out. You have my word I'll do what I can. "

"So how deep is this shit we're into, girl?" asked Rome.

"Real deep, I'm afraid."

"One other thing," said Suki. "You were talking about something called _Ultimate Street_ a while ago. What does that mean exactly?"

Neither Alex nor Kate gave an answer immediately They looked towards each other and slowly smiled wryly. Alex lifted the SD card in his hand which was given to him by Virgil. He knew what was inside the card. It was, undoubtedly, the registration data required.

"Let's just say," said Kate, "that you guys are about to witness a whole new level of street racing."

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Author's Note: Here the next chapter down. You probably noticed that I gave Suki a last name in this chapter. You'll pardon me for making up a last name for Suki (it's actually a misspelling of Devon Aoki's last name) since the movies or any canon material ever gave her one. I'll probably give Jimmy a last name too (again, one was never given to him since he was just a minor supporting character in the movie).

If, however, an official last name for either character is revealed in the upcoming _Fast and Furious_ (which is highly unlikely) then I'll switch to that instead.


	15. Chapter 13

Some hours later.

The groups was now back at Tej's Garage. Kate included. After they got back from the meeting with Virgil's crew at the parking garage, Alex and the gang found Tej waiting for them the moment they got back. Jimmy had told them about the attempted kidnapping and everything but it was up to both Kate and Alex to explain the rest. That took the better part of an hour with Tej asking them repeat what they just said many times over.

They only, so far, have told him the gist of things up to that point. Basically what Tej knows is that this big shot Virgil is holding them with blackmail and that they had no choice but to play his little game. Needless to say Tej was not pleased. Though he accepted that this Virgil character played the game well and went over all their heads.

"Just because we're stuck playing this joker's game," said Tej, "doesn't mean we're gonna let that cat get away with this shit."

"We share your sentiments but you gotta admit," said Alex, "he did catch us in a bind here. Make no mistake if we do take him down he'll take us down with him. It's just how he rolls. We're gonna have to wait for an opportunity to get even later but right now we'll just have to concentrate on the tournament."

"Tournament? What tournament?"

"This one," said Kate as she reentered the garage with a laptop computer in hand, which she set down on one of the tables in the waiting room where everybody was gathered. "C'mon. I'll show something cool."

It took about twenty seconds from pressing the power button to the desktop being available. Kate reached out a hand to Alex. Alex knew to reach into his pocket and take out the SD card that was given to him by Virgil. He handed the thing to Kate who quickly popped open the small plastic case, took out the card and inserted it into the proper slot.

About five seconds later, the Autorun kicked in an application appeared on the screen. The application looked like some kind of computer game by the way the user interface was designed. Lots of stylized graphics and effect and even some techno/club background music was playing. The menu text shown on screen was displayed in bright, neon blue lettering which read:

_ULTIMATE STREET_

_Team Management Software (v 6.1.87)_

_-Log In_

_-Exit_

Alex and Kate were not that fascinated with the screen; They had seen it at least once before. Suki, Rome, Jimmy and Tej on the other hand stared at the screen like a bunch of 5th graders on their first fieldtrip to the planetarium.

"This was what y'all were talking about?" asked Rome.

"Yup, this is it," answered Kate.

"What exactly is this Ultimate Street thing?"

Kate and Alex looked towards each other when they heard that question. They smirked at each other wryly to each other. Kate then turned to the rest of the group and explained everything.

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"_It all started in Vegas about 20 years ago. A bunch of big time garages, street racing crews, and shady business folk gathered together and hatched an idea. An idea involving lots of cars and lots of money."_

Some years ago, in an old, abandoned air field.

A '69 Mustang and a brand new Chevrolet Corvette C6 shot off one end of a 2000 ft gravel runway. The supercharged Mustang did a wheelie from the intense torque it produced while the Corvette stormed ahead, thanks to its modern traction control. Early on the Corvette pulled a considerable lead, making the Mustang eat its dust. But about a third of the way through, the classic muscle car was gaining quickly on the young gun and soon the two cars were neck and neck.

By the time the two cars were two-thirds down the length of the runway, the mustang was gaining a substantial lead, thanks to its massively supercharged engine. The Corvette driver, however, was nowhere near nervous. At the critical 3/4 mark of the runway, the Corvette utilized a modern aftermarket asset the classic car didn't have. The Corvette's tailpipes exploded with flame as the drive activated his nitrous system, instantly doubling the power of his already impressive engine.

The Corvette pulled ahead and soon bypassed the Mustang completely as the two cars crossed the finish line. Around them and running down the length of the runway, a gallery of audience members cheered for the winner of the race who was one step closer to filling his pocket with considerable amount of cash.

"_Ultimate Street was a tournament style competition where teams of four racers each were pitted against each other in five separate stages, each stage a little different and a little more dangerous. Each team was assigned a designated sponsor who was in charge of basically promoting them. The teams themselves competed for a grand prize consisting of the total amount of all the buy-ins from each competing racer._

"_But that was just one part of it._

"_Anybody, and I do mean anybody, involved or who knows about this tournament stands to gain big. Ultimate Street is like the Kentucky Derby of the street racing world. Ultimate Street is also one of the largest stages for high stakes gambling seen in all of Las Vegas."_

On another night, in the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Six tuned street cars buzzed down the famous oval track going in speeds in excess of 170 mph. The lead car, a Nissan Skyline GT-R R34, was closely followed by his teammate in a BMW M3 and an opposing team member in an Audi A3 about a few car lengths behind. Speeding up, the A3 began to gain some ground and took second place from the M3. The A3 was about to pass the GT-R on the inside lane when the Japanese tuner's driver noticed and quickly closed the door on the A3 by moving in its way.

This was a fatal move for the A3 as the M3, seeing the opportunity, pulled ahead with a quick burst of nitrous oxide and took the lead. The racers were now coming into the straightaway of the oval track and all six cars rocketed down the stretch. In a normal stock car race, one would expect the six cars to continue around the oval. But this race was nowhere near regulation rules. The racers instead turned in towards the service road which curved up the pit road.

The racers rocketed down the long easy left into the pit road where one of the trailing cars, a new generation Pontiac GTO, tried to gained a position on his opponent, a Vauxhall Monaro (now that was an interesting match-up), by flooring the gas. The Manaro driver was caught off-guard and by the time they reach the end of the pit road, the GTO moved up the standings.

Along the pit road and on the parking lots where regular team crews and trailers would be parked on a normal event were instead groups of street race enthusiasts, some showing off their cars, a few other showing off their cash as they watched the racers and cheered for whoever they had their money on. Somewhere in the crowds was a bookie taking bets.

"_It was a simple idea, but the execution of it was anything but. The concept was to take all the best racers on the street, put them down on some of the most challenging courses in and around Las Vegas. Add to that the thrill of high stakes gambling and you got yourself a winning recipe for thrill, chills, and the all important allure of cold, hard greenbacks._

"_The appeal was instantaneous. Everyone who was anyone in the street racing scene got invitations to participate flying to their front doors. For the racers themselves, it wasn't just about the money, which was nothing to scoff at I assure you. There was pride and reputation on the line as well. This was the granddaddy of street racing events. If you win this you know you'll get respect anywhere."_

On a dark and desolate road somewhere near the Colorado River separating the states of Nevada and Arizona.

The rumble of engines broke the silence of the clear night. Two cars, an Audi TT and a Honda NSX, duked it out in the middle of nowhere. A long winding mountain provided the stage in which the two legendary tuner cars, both piloted by two of the best drivers proven so far, to settle the completion one and for all.

In terms of performance ratings in the way they drove, both cars matched each other to the thousandth decimal place. The last deciding factor either driver could rely on was luck. That worried the both of them. They pretty much used up all their luck just to get to this point. Whatever was left for them to spare would the decided the outcome of the race.

The trailing Audi TT made a bold move by attempting to gain some ground on the inside of a long but deep right curve. The TT had the advantage in power but the NSX was lighter and had superior sharp handling. The TT driver knew that his best chance of winning was to watch those corners where the mid-engine supercar could easily leave him in the dust. But the NSX driver was patient enough and let the TT get closer.

The Audi slowly gained ground as the two racers reach the halfway mark of the race. The road they were on would end right at the edge of the Colorado River, at the edge of the state of Nevada. Once there, they will make a U-turn and race back to the starting line another 1.7 miles away through winding mountain road. But just before the sprint to the river, there was a sharp hairpin right that the two cars would have to negotiate.

The fateful corner finally came up. By then, the Audi was bumper to bumper with the NSX. Both Cars moved to the outside lane and sharply turned in towards the corner. The mid-engine, RWD Honda oversteered a bit and did a powerslide across the corner while the Audi's remarkable traction control helped the car dig deep into the asphalt with its tires and allowed the driver to push the power coming out of the corner.

The end result was that the TT and NSX came out of the corner side-by-side.

The point of the U-turn was fast approaching, a tall orange con planted onto the middle of the road, less than 300 yards away. Neither car was allowing the other an inch of leeway. Whoever reached the cone first would hold the upper hand on the latter half of the race. The Audi steadily gained the lead.

"_The stakes were high…Actually that's an understatement. The stakes were _astronomical_. The money alone was already ridiculous to begin with, but the way we run, the way your opponent runs, it's no longer a case of simply winning or losing. _

"_With stakes this high, nobody ever settles for second place. Either you win, or you break yourself trying."_

The Audi was by now a full car length ahead of the NSX. The driver was confident in the mods of his car to be able to take him all the way to victory. What the Audi TT driver wasn't expecting was that the NSX was also highly modified. 200 yards from the cone the NSX driver flipped a switch on the dash and activated his secret weapon: A Comptech Sport Supercharger which the driver tuned to give his Japanese supercar another 90hp at the wheel.

The acceleration was blistering and the driver of the NSX was actually pressed back t his seat. The NSX quickly took back its lead just in time for the cone to come up. This was where the NSX driver would test his opponent's guts. The Audi driver never even noticed until the last minute when the two cars were making their hairpin turns.

The NSX came from the right side and turned in leftwards while the TT came from the left side and turned in rightwards. As his turn was made the driver of the TT was completely chocked when he saw the NSX already mid-way through the corner and the two cars were primed for collision.

In that state of panic, The TT driver swerved to the left hard and narrowly missed the NSX as it came around. But the sudden turn proved a costly mistake for the TT as the driver lost control of the car and subsequently tipped to the side. The crash ended with the Audi sliding sideways on the concrete, nearly hitting the car of a spectator that was parked around the cone.

The NSX driver looked in his rearview mirror with satisfaction in knowing that the race was his win.

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"That's about the gist of it," finished Kate.

Aside from Alex, the rest of the crew was in deep thought, absorbing and contemplating all that information they just heard. For them they almost couldn't believe what they just heard. Something of this scale actually existed in their world? And they didn't know about it?!

"Exactly how much money are we talking about?" asked Tej, speaking from his 'businessman' persona.

"Each team who's participating is required to cough up 30 grand buy-in. Usually the sponsor provides that. The total of all those fees from all the teams, minus about 60 grand for the organizers' charges, constitutes the grand prize."

That's when it all clicked for Tej. It was simple math from then on. A five stage tournament would consist of 32 teams bying-in. 32 times 30 grand minus the 60 grand that Kate said the organizer's charged means a purse of 900,000 dollars. He almost couldn't wrap his head around that number. 900 grand for the winning team of a street race. He looked around and saw that the others seemed to share his sense of awe.

"That's…some serious dough," was all Tej could say.

"I'll say," continued Kate. "The buy-in price is steep but every year there has never been a failure for 32 teams to sign up. Everyone wants apiece of the action no matter the buy-in. The winnings alone is just too big to pass up."

"And that's not all you can win too," said Alex. "There's also the gains from the gambling. If the team does well with the bookies then a team can stand to win even more. In past years, records show that a sponsor betting on his own team won half a mil."

"Yeah but that team didn't win that year. And he actually lost some of that money in the later stages."

"Still, at least those guys didn't walk away empty handed. After all, with odds like they had, they were glad as it was."

"I guess. By the way do you guys have any more questions?"

Jimmy actually raised his hand like a student in a class would do. "What are the rules of this tournament thing?"

Alex and Kate grinned towards him. "It's a street race kid," said Kate. "There are no rules except first guy to the line wins. Same as any real race."

"But what about cars? Any limit on those?"

"No. Drivers can race in whatever they want to race in. I remember a couple of years back there was one dude who drove an Ariel Atom. He didn't win of course but it was nice to watch him try."

"No limits on modification either?"

"You got it, kid. Anyway that's about it for the official stuff. Other than the cash and the designated tracks, it's basically a free-for-all competition where anything goes. It all comes down to the skill of the driver and the capabilities of their machines."

Jimmy was silent. Just like he first thought, this was something way out of his league. Back in the day, he was arrogant when he first started street racing, thinking he knew it all just from his mechanical experience. But when Alex started teaching him, he soon learned to be more humble about himself. He never would've thought of something like _Ultimate Street_ could exist. To think that there were really drivers of that caliber racing on the streets for stakes like that.

After Jimmy, it was Rome who raised his hand for a question. "You guys know a lot about this. Have you two ever participated in this gig?"

There was a silence after the question as the four looked to Alex and Kate for an answer. The two in question looked at each other briefly with serious expressions before turning back to the rest of the crew.

"No. To be honest, we never participated," said Alex.

"But we've had our sights set on it for a long time now," said Alex. "Oh course things never go as you plan them."

"We we're supposed to participate two years ago but complications brought about by a…certain people pretty much ruined our opportunity to compete. Virgil's team took our place. They never got past the first stage though and they lost quite a stake. Virgil went into the smuggling business soon after that and somehow got us involved with him. That's when things went wrong for all of us."

"Wait, is that what y'all were talking about with that dude earlier at the parking garage?" asked Rome again.

"Yeah."

"What exactly happened?"

Again, the two were silent as they decided on what to say. The rest of the group eagerly waited for the story.

"It's a long story but basically it's like this," started Kate. "He conned us into a deal that would ensure cash for all of us. At the time we were financially in the red and we needed cash. It was actually some associates of ours who set up the deal. We had no choice at the time, not because we were low on money but Virgil was doing the whole blackmail game. At the time he had more leverage on us. Anyways, we were supposed to transport some cash for Virgil. Simple drop and get paid later."

"But something went wrong," said Alex. "Some narc'd out on Virgil and before we knew it the feds were on our ass in a heartbeat. We we're lucky to get away with what we have now."

"But Virgil took the brunt of it. He lost almost all his assets and his influence diminished. We were all forced to run. Alex and I separated and covered our tracks. We decided that this was a chance to start over."

"You guys were willing to start over just like that?" asked Rome.

"Yeah. Even before Virgil came along our situations were less than ideal. If we weren't gonna do it then we were gonna do it eventually. That was for sure. The timing was just convenient. We were just waiting for a second chance."

From that Rome was silent. If anyone could understand the need for a second chance, it was him.

Now Suki was the one raising a hand. "So we're really gonna do this Ultimate Street thing?"

"We don't have a choice," said Kate.

Suki gave both Alex and Kate a critical look. She couldn't hold back her curiosity anymore. There were something that has been nagging at her mind. "No. That's not true. We do have a choice. I looked at that data you had on this Virgil character and we could easily bring that guy down with it. He's underestimating Tej here if he thinks he can just con us into doing his shit for him. Tej can rip that guy apart if he wants to and we'll be safe. You know that, don't you?"

"Well…I'm not sure…you may be confident in him but I barely know you guys. Besides, we--"

"Virgil said something about you guys wanting to get even with someone."

Alex and Kate were silent.

Suki continued. "He also said that you guys were aiming for Ultimate Street so that you could get back at what they did to…your old man, was it? Did something happen to you guys? Who was Virgil talking about."

Alex and Kate continued to keep their silence. Kate's eyes wandered to the floor and they could all tell she was holding back some emotions. Alex kept his cool better but it was noticeable that he had his buttons pushed. Suki wondered what she had just done and was starting to regret it.

"There was…this old guy…we called him Ol' Joe," started Alex with a heavy tone. "When we had nowhere left, he was there. He was…aside from Kate here, he was the closest I could call to a family."

Suki wanted to ask but was very hesitant. But the curiosity continued to nag at her. "What happened to him?"

"It was supposed to be a simple scare tactic. An ambitious bunch tried to exploit him…exploit us. He refused, the stubborn old mule. He would never let anyone tell him what to do...So they decided to…teach him a lesson, as they put it. I don't think they meant to go too far…but they did anyway."

Suki and the rest of them knew then and there not to touch that subject. Everyone had something in their past they rather not revisit. Some people have more painful memories than others. They all had their own person dark spots in their history.

"In any case," started Kate up suddenly, "those guys are now heavily tied with Ultimate Street. Our plan was to participate so that we could find out more about these guys. That's why we've been trying to get into Ultimate Street all this time. We spent a long time preparing for it too. Alex's Silvia S15, my Subaru Impreza WRX, we each spent months tuning those cars into the meanest road machines possible. All for this."

"But like we said, things don't always go as planned," said Alex.

"We actually eventually decided to forget about all of it when that incident with Virgil happened. Leave everything behind and start over from scratch. It worked…for a while."

"Guess we just never expected our past to catch up to us. Guess we weren't as fast as we thought we were."

Again, another long and awkward silent. The somber atmosphere was heavy enough to squash a bug.

"Look, like I said before, you guys owe us nothing," said Kate. "This is not your problem, it's ours. We can take care of it by ourselves and--"

"Hell naw!!" exclaimed Rome all of a sudden causing the rest of the group to jump.

Rome stood up from his seated position and walked briskly to the center of the group and faced Alex and Kate. "I know I didn't hear that comin' from you."

"Wh-What do you mean?"

"Don't say we don't owe you nothing. Back there just now, You practically saved mine and Suki's lives back there, girl. And this cat right here," he pointed to Alex, "well, he's done plenty for us already. He's practically family."

"And besides," started Suki as she stood up, "from what I understand, this competition is _team-based_. And there's only two of you. And if you're gonna look for others, I can assure you that you find anyone better or more willing than the people right here."

"Damn straight. So I don't care what you say, we in this together all the way, baby. Roman Pearce don't back down from nobody."

"Also," started Tej, "this gig of yours sounds pretty big. As if a brotha like me is gonna pass up an opportunity like this."

Alex and Kate looked at each other inquisitively then back at the group, first unable to belive what they were hearing. But slowly, their lips curved.

"Well," said Kate with a slight snicker. "We're gonna need more than just drivers. It's a long haul, we need good mechanics as well."

Jimmy was at his feet and standing attention in no time. "You're looking at the best in Miami right here. I may not be that good behind the wheel yet, but I know my way around what's under the hood of any car pretty damn well. You can count on that!"

"Also, I'm sure my girls will be willing to help," added Suki. "They've been with me through almost everything. I trust them with my motor as I would with my life."

Alex and Kate started snickering to themselves. All that gloom and despair was gone and they couldn't even remember it being there in the first place.

"So were' really doing this then? Together?" asked Kate.

"Hell yeah, girl," said Rome. "Like we're gonna let you guys have all the fun."

At that point, Kate couldn't control herself. She jumped off her seat and tackled Rome to the floor in a tight hug. Alex instantly laugh at Rome's expense who was trying his best not to suffocate.

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Author's note: Please excuse me while the pace of my updating is slow. I'm actually in the middle of a Thesis project that I'm dedicating most of my time to. I'm still doing this though, but only in my free time to help me relax between workloads. Anyways, Here I've put in the gist of what's coming up in the story. Like I said earlier, I meant this story to be big.

As usual, pls R&R. I cherish your feedback. Also, don't be afraid to point out any of my goofs in my writing. I am by no means an expert on cars and racing so any input you guys can send my way on the subject is very welcomed.


	16. Chapter 14

The next day.

In one of the famous beach-front hotels that Miami was famous for, Virgil was doing the typical tourist thing and enjoying the native sights, particularly the swimsuit-clad kind. He stood at the edge of his hotel room's balcony and inside the rest of his crew was hanging out, enjoying the morning with a quick take-out breakfast, some Saturday-morning cartoons on the TV and a few girls they managed to charm into their company the night before. Virgil was wondering why he chose Nevada instead of this. Maybe because at the time it was easier to make money there than anywhere else.

Yes, money was so easy to get back then. It almost poured into his hands. But he learned so enough that opportunities like that don't come without interest. People like Alex taught him that lesson as well as other people whom he can identify but it was always that damn boy who he thought had started it all.

Back then he was the king of the streets of Nevada. Nobody could beat him on the blacktop. His skills were legendary. But then this unassuming little car-junkie popped out of nowhere. He didn't give the guy much thought. Hardly anybody did. But over the next few months this kid got himself a reputation. He started proving himself out there, making friends and enemies alike. It wasn't too long before Virgil himself had to face with him.

He underestimated him. Much like how everybody underestimated him. That was the first time Virgil ever met anyone who can face him as an equal. And so the saga went.

Both Virgil and Alex found ways to respect each other's skill. They raced each other numerous times each pushing the other to further limits that they didn't see before. For Alex, it was refreshing to find someone like Virgil. Someone he could really be challenged with. Someone who can count on to always give him a run for his money. As for Virgil, Alex was something of an oddity he wanted to get rid of. Like a mole on the wrong part of your face. Something he made his mission to surpass beyond anyone's doubt.

The two exchanged victories and defeats but they always got back up from every match-up they had and in the end they ended up in a league of their own. However, Virgil was too ambitious to be satisfied with just that. He wanted more. So he decided to do what he knew Alex couldn't beat him at. He went into organized crime and made money out of it. Alex had no interest in such thing and Virgil was simply left to his own devices. His ambition paid off as he started amassing cash and lots of it. He soon discovered that he could be superior to Alex outside racing. He was living the highlife.

Until everything went downhill.

Those damned slime balls. They cheated him. Narc'd him out. He nearly lost everything. Not just him. Even his most annoying rival lost something precious. And he had to laugh at the current state of things. It seemed he now had to depend on that old rival of his so that they could both get what they want.

"Yo boss," called out one man on a laptop. "Check this out!"

Virgil knew what is was before he walked over to the man. He looked down on the screen and smiled with pleasure at what he saw. His man was logged into the secure on Ultimate Street team viewer and Virgil found himself looking at his own team.

_Team Name: Wyldcardz_

_Leader: Alex Cooper_

_Car: Nissan Silvia (S15)_

_Member 1: Suki Aiko_

_Car: Honda S2000 (AP1)_

_Member 2: Kate Williams_

_Car: Subaru Impreza WRX STi (GD)_

_Member 3: Roman Pearce_

_Car: 1972 Plymouth 'Cuda_

"Looks like they decided to take your invitation, boss," said the man.

"Like Alex had any other choice. Besides. I know him and his old friends enough to know that those two have always been on the ambitious side. No way were they gonna pass up on that offer."

"Are you sure they can really win this?"

"As much as I hate to admit it, He's the most talent I've seen behind the wheel. I don't know too many people who can stand up to him, except maybe for that bald guy who used to be the street racing king in LA and that ex-cop that passed by out turf in the Dodge Stealth."

"They have some tough competition ahead of them. I mean look at all these other teams. Some of them, pretty much cake walk for our guys. But others here have reputations. Good ones and bad ones."

"Really?...Show me."

Virgil concentrated on the screen of the computer as his man browsed the rest of the already registered teams in the tournament.

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El Paso, Texas.

Somewhere on the outskirts of the city, the howling of the dry winds across the vast mountain ranges were no match for the sound of thundering V8 engines that echoed from the hard, sandy ground. On one long stretch of open earth, two generations of the premier American muscle car raced alongside each other exceeding any allowable speed the law could tolerate.

On the right was a 1964 Pontiac GTO. The sleek, aqua blue, two-door sports coupe glimmered in the afternoon sun like is rolled out of the showroom floor two minutes ago. Indeed, this masterpiece of a car was restored lovingly by its owner into a beast that will dominate anything on the streets as he would see it. The GTO's triple two-barrel-carburetor, 389-cid V-8 engine was not only restored with mostly all-original performance parts like metallic drum brake linings, limited slip differential, heavy-duty cooling, ride and handling package, and the 4-speed manual transmission, but the engine was also tuned to new heights.

While being restored, it was bored and tricked for added displacement. Larger, custom-made 4 inch, aluminum cylinder head with accompanying combustion chamber from Edelbrock were put in giving the car at least 30 percent more grunt to it. added to that were a Performer 4-bbl 800 cfm carburetor with electric choke, Victor aluminum intake manifold, dual inlet fuel lines, fuel filters, all from Edelbrock. And on top of all of that, an Edelbrock supercharger that brought the total engine output at around 650 hp.

On the left, was a 2004 Pontiac GTO. The midnight blue sports coupe was decorated in conservative but still good-looking white racing stripes over the top of the body and across the side. The modern muscle car featured under the hood a modern V8 tuned with an ATI ProCharger Intercooled Serpentine Race Kit with D-1SC Supercharger which put it pretty close to the range of its 40 year old senior driving next to it.

The two cars stormed across the hot, sandy ground reaching break-neck speeds of over 150 mph, kicking up a msit of dirt in their wake. In the distance. Two other guys standing next t their respective cars, a 2008 Dodge Challenger and a 2005 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. The one with the Challenger was a young looking man of South-American origin while the one with the Corvette was a young woman with those average 'farmer's daughter' looks. They watched as the two cars came thundering towards them, not slowing down until they were less that a hundred yards away.

The two generations of GTO's slammed on the brakes a short distance away from their friends and came to a halt around ten feet from where the other two were standing. The engines rumbled on idle for a minute before the drivers turned off their cars and stepped out. From the old GTO came out a tall well built man with short, crew-cut, blond hair. He stood tall over his car, the roof barely over his waistline. From the modern GTO stepped out a younger looking man who looked to be fresh out of college with his unkempt blond hair.

The younger man looked towards the taller. "So, Derek," he said. "Think she's ready?"

The tall man, Derek, looked towards the younger for a long moment before his lips curved into a satisfied smile. "Oh, yes, little brother," he said. "She's ready."

The rest of the group quickly smiled in response. "Think this'll be our year?" asked the girl.

"Why not?" said the Challenger driver. "With all the muscle we're packing, we'll have the rest of the completion on their knees in no time."

_Team Name: Thunder Hall_

_Leader: Derek Lynn_

_Car: 1964 Pontiac GTO_

_Member 1: Carl Lynn_

_Car: 2006 Pontiac GTO_

_Member 2: Victor Marquez_

_Car: 2008 Dodge Challenger_

_Member 3: Alexia Manson_

_Car: Chevrolet Corvette Z06 _

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San Francisco, California.

At the large parking spaces in an around Marina Blvd, in the dead of night a different ballet of sorts was taking place. Lighted only by the surrounding street lamps and the headlights of audience's cars, a wildly styled, red and black Mazda RX-7 and Nissan 350Z performed highly entertaining doughnuts on the black top. Around the performing car were loads of other cars, street racers by the way they were all decked out.

The RX-7 was decked out in a Veilside 'Fortune' widebody kit that completely transformed the car into a form totally unlike a stock FD RX-7. The styling was made even wilder by the crazy psychedelic graphics spray painted all over the cars body that managed to be both extreme but still marginally tasteful in terms of style. Capping off the extreme style was a set of 17" silver Akita Racing AK4 rims at the front and 18" Akita Racing AK3 rims in the back. Highlighting all this extreme styling was bright red neon light eliminating the road under the car

The 350 Z was decked out in a Veilside Ver. III widebody kit that made the 350Z look more aggressive than a the normal body. Accenting the body was a set of 18" MR2488 rims from Motegi Wheels. Sty;ing the body was the same matching psychedelic graphics and bright red neon.

Music was blaring hip-hop beats across the lot as many of the young crowds of mixed races steadily danced together to the beats. On the boulevard itself a race was starting between a non-descript Honda Civic Type-R and a new Mitsubishi Eclipse GT that was equally extremely styled as the RX-7.

The Eclipse GT was sporting an Extreme Dimensions 'Demon' body kit with an added drag style APR carbon fiber adjustable spoiler and a set of 18" 301 C Cubed rims. The whole body was styled similarly to the RX-7 and 350Z and even had the same neon under the body which obviously appeased the crowd around it.

A random person stepped out of the crowd and served as the makeshift flag bearer for the race. When he stepped into the middle of the two cars he removed his cap from his head and raised it up for both drivers to see. Both drivers revved their engines to signal that they were ready. With a simple flick of the wrist, the dude in the middle tossed his cap up onto the air. The moment the cap touched the ground at the dude's feet, both cars took off with all the power they had.

The race would consist of a single lap around Marina Blvd. From the start the highly tuned Eclipse gained the upper hand taking a huge lead over the Civic. The driver of the Civic tried every trick he knew in the book but it was a struggle in vain all the way. By the time the race was half-way done, the Eclipse has built an insurmountable lead over 4 car-lengths ahead of the Civic.

The race eventually ended and the Eclipse did a stylish finish by powersliding across the finish line. The Civic crossed the line about four seconds later. The driver of the Eclipse stepped out of the car and revealed herself to be a young Japanese teen wearing fashions almost as crazy as her car. The crowd sheered for her and the Civic driver could barely make eye-contact as he approached her.

"Pay up," she said simply while extending a hand.

The Civic driver quickly dug out a wad of cash from his pocket and handed it to her then quickly walked back to his car and drove off, not wanting to live off his defeat for the rest of the night. The Eclipse driver raised her cash up in the air like a trophy calling forth some more cheers from the crowd.

From the side, the RX-7 and 350Z drivers were out of their cars and watching the Eclipse. Both drivers were young Japanese men also dressed in wild fashions. Moments later a new car joins the group as the crowd parts to let it through. The two drivers turned to see their fourth teammate enter the scene.

The car that entered the scene was an 2005 Acura RSX decked out in a VIS Racing Z1000 bodykit and a set of 18" 25B Jet model rims from ICW Racing. Again, the wild styling was prominent across the whole body of the car, similar to the Eclipse, RX-7 and 350Z. The driver stepped out and was revealed to be another young Japanese girl with short black hair.

"What I miss?" asked the RSX driver.

"Oh, not much," replied the RX-7 driver. "Just Rikku showing off again." He pointed to the Eclipse driver still celebrating her victory.

"She seems more uppity than usual."

"Of course," said the 350Z driver. "She thinks we'll win _Ultimate Street._"

"What makes you think we won't?"

_Team Name: Mad Stylez_

_Leader: Ryosuke Takeshi_

_Car: Mazda RX-7 (FD)_

_Member 1: Rikku Minami_

_Car: Mitsubishi Eclipse GT (4G)_

_Member 2: Aki Otohime_

_Car: 2005 Acura RSX_

_Member 3: Sato Minoru_

_Car: Nissan 350Z_

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Commerce City, Colorado.

At the Second Creek Raceway, which was normally unused for most of the year aside from a few race days and the occasional meets of auto clubs, was currently playing host to an unusual bunch. The group consisted of several people on the pit lane along with three mean-looking cars. The three cars were a Skyline GT-R R33, a Lancer Evo VI and an Audi S3.

All three of the cars, for the most part, looked stock. The Silver R33 Skyline retained its factory body and rear spoiler but with added Nismo competition rims. The bright red Lan Evo VI also featured nothing but its signature factory body kit and spoiler. Only the yellow S3 looked different than from when it came out of the factory by sporting a custom molded carbon fiber hood. Despite the lack of styling, the cars featured several aftermarket company stickers on the side of the doors and hoods, indicating that the non-descript body shells hid underneath them true-blue road racing machines.

Nothing proved that more than the one car that was on the track at that moment.

Circling the track in a red hot lap was a midnight blue Comptech tuned Acura NSX. The sound of that highly tuned, supercharged DOHC V6 echoed throughout the track. As it approached the start/finish line, the group at the pit lane watched the car as it approached with scrutiny. Waiting at the line was a young woman with a stopwatch running and an itchy thumb at the lap button.

The NSX crossed the finish line at full speed, and the young lady instantly slammed down on the lap button. The NSX did a powerslide in the end, bringing up a lot of smoke from its tires. As it drove back up to the lady who was timing the other people in the pit lane started to move in closer.

"He did quite well, I think" said the S3 driver, a young black man who looked around twenty.

"That's a Pro Racer for you," said the Skyline driver in a heavy British accent. "Ain't that right, Mark?"

The Evo driver, Mark, didn't say anything. The NSX stopped in front of the lady and the driver, a middle-aged black man who looked thirty-something and dressed in racer overalls and a helmet, stepped out.

"What's the time?" he asked her with a stern voice.

"You're back to 86.143 seconds from the last few laps," she replied "You improved your last lap by about second-an-a-half. Looks like stiffening up those rear springs seem to be helping a bit. Wanna adjust those rear shocks again?"

"No, the rear shocks are fine. The front's not diggin' in hard enough."

"Got it then, maybe the tires are too hard. I'll get right on it."

The girl motioned for some of the other people in the back. Together they gathered around the NSX with tools in hand to make what was probably the tenth adjustment to the NSX that day.

The Evo VI driver, a younger looking man, suddenly stepped up. "You're not satisfied yet? That's the best lap out of yours today. I say you're not gonna make anymore improvements today."

The NSX driver gave him a stern look. "No, we don't stop working. The car can still be faster."

"Why do you always insist it's the car that needs to be faster and not--" He stopped himself in the middle of his sentence but the message was already delivered. Everybody stopped what they were doing and quickly turned to the Mark and the NSX driver who were now staring each other down.

"What did you say to me?" asked the NSX driver to his obvious junior.

The Evo VI driver didn't back down. "You heard what I said. The car's fine. You should focus on improving other aspects of your game. I'm not saying you suck, Allen, but--"

"Do you have any idea what you're saying?! I've been a five year consecutive champion at Battle Machine and Super Promotion! I've been to the best racing schools and learned from the best!"

"All of that mean dick o the street. This competition is not pro racing. This is down and dirty street racing. Rushing us into the tournament like this was wrong."

"There you go again with those damn 'street smarts' of yours. I don't need you to teach me any of you street crap."

"You're right. You don't need me to teach you. _Ultimate Street_ will teach it for you. And I'll be there to bail this team out…again."

Mark the Evo VI driver then started to walk away leaving the rest of the group in silence. Allen the NSX driver stood there contemplating Mark's words and promised himself that he _wouldn't_ be proven wrong.

_Team Name: SpeedProduction_

_Leader: Allen Redfield_

_Car: 1999 Acura NSX-T_

_Member 1: Mark Langford_

_Car: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI_

_Member 2: Oliver Sanders_

_Car: Nissan Skyline GT-R (R33)_

_Member 3: Matt Anderson_

_Car: Audi S3 (8P)_

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San Diego, California.

On one of the more scenic locations of an already bustling tourist city, Mission Bay was as close to being the Miami Beaches of the west coast as they got. Like the beaches of Miami, Mission bay was home to sun, surf, sand, and even the occasional show-off speed demons. However here in Mission Bay, there was a group that was a cut above the rest.

Parked close to the sand, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, were a bright green Porsche 911 and a black Mercedes-Benz CLK.

Sitting atop the front end of the 911 was a young black woman dressed in designer street clothes and had short brown hair that most pop idols would envy. She was operating on a laptop computer. Her companion, a young Chinese woman dressed in a more conservative get-up with long black hair was contempt at simply staring out into the ocean.

"How's it looking, Amy," asked the girl standing next to the CLK.

"Looks like some competition are participating this year," replied the girl on the 911, "I know some of these teams. They have pretty formidable reputations. Still, nothing we can't handle, girl."

"Are you sure about that?"

"With what we've got," she tapped the hood of her car, "None of these guys can come close. The degree of performance we'll bring into the tournament can't be matched."

"I'm starting to wonder if that's all we'll need."

The conversation of the two was interrupted by the sound of two more engines rumbling. Both girls looked up and spotted the source of the sounds. Pulling up to them were two other of the some of the most exotic cars money can buy. The first car that parked alongside them was a black Aston Martin. The second car was a bright orange Lamborghini Gallardo.

From out of the Aston Martin, stepped out a well-trimmed man with a pale complexion and blond hair that obviously came from a salon somewhere. From out of the Gallardo stepped out another woman again dressed good enough for the Ritz.

"How is she?" asked Amy, the 911 driver.

The Lady standing next to the Gallardo lightly tapped the engine cover of her car. "Purring like a kitten," she replied.

"I swear, girls," said the Aston Martin driver in an unusually high-pitched tone. "This year will be ours. _Ultimate Street_ is in the bag."

"I wouldn't make assumptions so early, Steven," said the CLK driver. "You mustn't underestimate the other competitors just because we got all the best equipment."

"Oh, honey, please. Who out there can possibly stand up to these kinds of cars? Do you know anyone? Cause I sure don't."

The CLK driver was silent for a moment. A single name popped up in her head. "Yeah, I know one."

_Team Name: Premier Street_

_Leader: Lisa Jacobson _

_Car: Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera_

_Member 1: Amy Maxwell_

_Car: Mercedes-Benz CLK 63 AMG Black Series_

_Member 2: Loraine Masters_

_Car: Porsche 911 GT3 RS_

_Member 3: Steven Cannes_

_Car: Aston Martin DBS_

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Somewhere in Arizona.

Along I-19, there was a small roadside diner out in the middle of just about nowhere. The nearest urban area was a couple hundred miles away and all that one could see from ere was bits of mountains a desert grass in any direction one would look. Normally, a diner such as this would cater mostly to truck drivers and vacationing families.

How unusual was it to find three, highly modified, tuner cars parked outside.

The first car was a reborn, modern American classic; a 2005 Shelby Cobra GT500, looking real sharp with is factory bright cherry-red paint and white racing stripes. Stickers on the side indicate some further tuning was involved somehow in making an already awesome car into something really formidable.

Next to that was a Germany's own modern touring classic, a 2003 BMW M3 CSL. While an ordinary M3 was a good enough car, This navy blue CSL was the lightweight, hardcore version. With dramatically reduced weight and super-hard suspension this car was a mountain of performance that not just anyone can handle. An aftermarket paintjob consisted of a glossy navy blue finish and white, wavy checkered flag graphics on the side gave it a nice racy look.

Lastly, a staple of Japanese power, a jet black Toyota Supra. From first impressions the car meant business. Modified with all original TRD components including a revised body kit for better aerodynamics, 18" TRD sports MAG rims, and a ventilated hood, not to mention all the added stuff underneath that hood. The mean-looking Supra was styled with a jet-black paint scheme accented by bright red lines that ran wildly across the body.

Inside the diner, the only three customers, dining on some waffles and lemonade, were presumably the drivers of the these three high-performance cars. Two men and one woman who can all be identifiable by their clothing which indicated which ca they owned. The first guys was a middle-aged Filipino in his early thirties wearing a black Selby Cobra windbreaker. The second man was a British teen was wearing a TRD shirt. The woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties and all-American wore a blue jacket with the M3 badge stitched over the left breast pocket.

"I'm telling you," said the young Supra driver, "I'm not sure about this plan of yours, Manny."

"What are you so nervous about, Marcus?" said the Shelby driver. "I told you, I know the guy. I can vouch for him. Sure he's had a rough past but I'm telling you he's a good man and he won't let us down."

"I can believe that. But what I can't quite grasp is how good you make him out to be on the track. I mean, this is _Ultimate Race_ after all. We need the best guys on our team."

"Don't worry, he's as good as I say he is. You'll get the chance to see him in action soon."

"I hope so too," said the M3 driver. "We've been planning this gig for a long time now. Plus, after checking out the competition…I'm really prayin' this guy's got what it takes."

"Well, it's no surprise competition will be stiff, considering the level of this tournament."

"Manny, you're the best driver around here. I know what you can do but I'm still not sure you're enough to get us as far as we need to go."

"Don't sell yourselves short now. You guys are pretty good too. And that's also the reason why we hired this friend of mine. For extra insurance. Once you see what he can do, you'll see that--"

They were interrupted by the sound of an approaching engine. They all looked out the window towards the south. In the distance they could see a small dust cloud being kicked up in the wake of a speeding vehicle. The group of three waited and watched for almost half-a-minute as the car made its way to the front of the diner. Once they got a clear view of it, Manny, the Shelby driver, grinned with satisfaction.

The Car in question was a silver Nissan GT-R V-Spec II Nür, one of the ultimate incarnations of the legendary Japanese touring car. It's the engine that sets the Nür apart from any other Skyline. It is based on the N1 racing unit which has a specifically prepared block, pistons and connecting rods and a special edition speedometer that went all the way to 300 km/h. With a little bit of tuning, the Nür could very well produce over 600 bhp. Steh bright silver body of the Skyline was accented by a combination of blue double racing stripes running accros the hood and blue checkered flag graphics slanting up the side of the car.

The driver of the car, a handsome-looking young man wearing, appropriately enough, a NISMO tagged polo shirt, stepped out of the car and made a bee-line for the diner entrance. As soon as he entered he was met the diner's only waitress who eyed him for a long moment like a piece of candy. He didn't seem to mind.

"What can I get you, stranger?" asked the waitress.

"Tuna on white," said Brian O'Conner. "No crust, please."

_Team Name: Project 75_

_Leader: Manny San Diego _

_Car: 2005 Shelby Cobra GT500_

_Member 1: Brian O'Conner_

_Car: __Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34) V-Spec II Nür_

_Member 2: Linda Ames_

_Car: BMW M3 CSL (E46)_

_Member 3: Marcus Strauss_

_Car: Toyota Supra (Mk. IV)_

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Author's note: Finally got back to writing this story. Been too damn busy lately. Hope you like the new developments so far. As usual, pls R&R!


	17. Chapter 15

On the road.

At this time of the year, one would expect to see probably caravans and mobile homes littering the interstates and highways leading out of the major metropolitan areas. It was vacation season and families in their big vans, SUVs, and mobile homes and even the occasional tour bus every now and then representing the higher-ups of society, all of which were headed out into the peace and quiet of the countryside.

Somewhere in New Mexico, on Interstate 40, a large RV containing a modest family of five was on their way to Arizona was cruising at 60 mph. Inside the dad was driving, the mom was seated in the passenger seat trying to make sense of the map, the eldest teen brother was playing a PSP, the preteen daughter was busy reading some fashion magazine, and the youngest brother was playing with a couple of toy cars on the table.

On his right hand he had red toy Ferrari Enzo and on the other hand he had a blue Ford GT. The boy made engine sounds with his mouth as he pushed and pulled the two toy cars on the table pretending they were on a track, racing.

"Raaaaaaawwwwww, raaawwwwwwww, screee! Rawww, booooosch!"

The Ford GT just bumped into the Enzo and the Italian supercar just flipped and crash on the side of the track.

Meanwhile, in the front, mom was discussing with dad about where to go next.

"I say we stop by the Phoenix Art Museum," said the mom.

"Fine, but not before we see the Grand Canyon," replied the dad.

"But we already saw, the Grand Canyon, Dad," said the daughter. "We saw it like every time we go on vacation to Aunt Linda's"

"Yeah, sure. But I just never get tired of seeing it."

"How about the Phoenix Zoo?" suggested the mom.

"Mom, we're already headed for San Diego," said the eldest son, looking up from his game. "They got the best zoos there. Let's skip Pheonix."

"Well, there has to be a few more things to see in Phoenix. This is the first time we're taking this route."

"Rrrrraaaaaaw, BOOOOOOMMM!!" The Ford GT just slammed into the wall and exploded in a fiery blast.

"Honey, don't make such loud sounds when you play," said the mom to the youngest child.

"Alright…" said the boy with a bit of a pout.

The two parents resumed their discussion. However, they were again soon distracted by the sound of noisy car engines. The mother turned from her seat to look at her youngest child.

"Honey, I asked you not to be so loud, didn't I?"

"That's not me, mom."

The engine sounds continued to get louder and louder, and the whole of the family started to notice. The boy pulled aside the curtains on the big window to look outside. He was just in time to see and hear a blur of color and sound zoomed pass by. The dad was also surprised when what looked like a bright orange sports car drove by so fast that it shook his side mirror.

By then the whole family in the RV had their attention grabbed. The continued to look out the front of the windshield following the orange car as is disappeared in the distance. They were again surprised when it was soon followed by a bright pink sports car that zoomed by equally fast, followed by a black and blue four-dour sports saloon, then a bright purple muscle car, then a black European hatchback.

After those five cars passed by, the family was again surprised when what looked like a very big Cadillac Escalade also zoomed by the RV like it had a rocket in the engine.

"Cool!!!" exclaimed the young boy.

A minute and a mile later, ahead of the RV, the unusual caravan consisting of Alex's S15, Suki's S2000, Kate's Impreza, Rome's 'Cuda, Jimmy's Golf, and Tej's new ride, a brand new 2008 Cadillac Escalade ESV which was sitting on a set of 24" chromed-out AF131 model Asanti rims and was painted in a special custom Louie Vuitton patterned two-tone paintjob with a base colors of dark leather brown which fades to a dark mustard yellow at the back.

With just 10 days left till the official start of Ultimate Street, the gang has now set out for Las Vegas and were just crossing the State of Arizona, headed for Flagstaff where they'll spend the night, hopefully.

For the most part, he gang was enjoying the open road. Alex in particular loved travelling in the open road and wanted a break from inner city driving for a while. This trip was the perfect opportunity for him to stretch his legs as well as his engine. With Ultimate Race looming, they had spent quite some time prepping their cars giving them all needed tune-ups to ensure the cars will be in perfect form when the competition started.

Finally, Alex thought. Finally, his car will get a chance to prove what its worth. And in turn _he_ will get a chance to prove himself for what he's worth.

His in-car CB radio bleeped to life with Tej's voice. "Yo! How long till we get there, man? Over."

Alex mildly laughed at that. He had a feeling Tej wouldn't appreciate this road trip. He picked up the radio. "What's the matter, Tej? Getting bored of your company? Over.

Inside the Escalade, Tej looked towards his passenger and rear seats. Aside from him, the Escalade was occupied by four very young, very attractive women who smiled at him and giggled. They were Suki's friends and, as of the moment, the _Wyldcardz_'s official service crew, responsible for keeping the cars in top conditions as best they can. Each of them have been around cars long enough to know what makes an engine tick.

The girl in the passenger seat was a young black woman with big hair named Melissa; Mel for short. She was in charge of the S15 Silvia. Seated at the farthest right of the rear seat was a young looking Asian girl named Mei who was in charge of the Impreza (much to Kate's insistence). The last two girls were identical twins named Ashley and and Sherry and the only way you can tell them apart was from the fact that Ashley always wore something blue and Sherry always wore something green. Ashley was in charge of the S2000 while Sherry was in charge of the 'Cuda.

Tej turned back to his radio. "That's not what I mean man. It's just that a brother can't take this heat for long, brah."

"Man, I thought you were from Miami?"

"_Dry_ heat, boy! My 'fro don't do too well in Arizona."

"Oh, C'mon buddy. This is nothing! We're not even in Nevada yet, man."

"Something, I ain't looking forward to, I'll tell you that."

Suki's voice came up on the radio. "Relax Tej. Flagstaff's like twenty miles away."

"The hell is in Flagstaff anyway?"

"Well, Jimmy always said he wanted to see the Grand Canyon."

Jimmy's voice suddenly cracked onto the radios and replied in a play childish voice. "Pweas, daddy, let's go see the Gwand Canyon."

The rest of the crew got a good laugh at that. Jimmy was tagging along as the crew's chief mechanic who would take care of all the cars with the assistance of the four girls Suki brought along. Everyone knew that his mechanical skills were the best in Miami and that if any of these cars broke down it was up to him to bring them back to life. No other mechanic the others knew of can do that.

The group continued to drive on. They reached Flagstaff in a few minutes.

Flagstaff was little city located smack dab in the middle of the state of Arizona, known mainly for being in close proximity to many natural and a few historic landmarks, most famous of which is the Grand Canyon. The laid-back city was home to only about 100,000 people, not much compared to other major metropolitan areas. During vacation season, it's normal for this place to be flooded by tourists.

The team had planned to spend the afternoon at Flagstaff, gather supplies, have the cars checked out, and set off the next morning.

As soon as they entered the town the first thing they looked for a was a restaurant. They've been travelling for up to six hours straight and their cars weren't the only ones that needed to be replenished. They found a quaint little stake house and all of them ordered some of that prime, grade A beef that the Midwest seems to be so famous for. As they ate, they chatted about things to come.

"Can't believe we're actually going to _Ultimate Street, _at last!" said Kate excitedly.

"You're really looking forward to this, aren't you?" asked Jimmy.

"Hell, yeah. You have no idea how long we've been trying to get in this."

"What about this Virgil character? I don't really trust this dude."

"Oh, don't worry about him," said Alex.

"How can you say that?" asked Suki. "I mean, from the impression I got from when we first met was that guy was a total dick."

"Oh he's a dick, no doubt. He'll more often than not try to sleaze his way out or into anything he wants and couldn't care less who he gets involved. But I know the guy. All that bravado is mostly for show. He likes to act badass to keep his would-be enemies guessing. Truth is he's no different from an ordinary gangster. He just drives better. But still, he does have some honor. If he didn't, I would've been long dead by now."

"Was he a friend of yours back then?"

Kate snorted. "As if. Alex and Virgil have been buttin' heads since they met. I don't know. It's a 'rival' thing."

"Guess, that Virgil character was just looking for someone to run against as an equal, is all," said Tej. "I've met a lot of those in my time."

"We can trust him for now at least. He wants us to win as much as we do."

At that moment Alex had finished his meal while the rest of the group barely finished half of theirs. "Well, I'm done," he declared.

"You sure eat fast," commented Rome.

"He's always been this way," said Kate. "He eats too fast. He drives too fast…Hey Suki, anything else you can think of which he's too fast at?"

Suki nearly spat out her mashed potatoes and the rest of group tried to hold back their own cackling laughter. Alex wore an annoyed, but bemused look on his face.

"Real funny, Kate," he retorted. "Whatever. We're supposed to be here for resupply anyway, right? There was a garage a couple of blocks up the road I spotted on the way here. I'm gonna go check it out."

"Alright, man. Just comeback here in 'bout ten, kay?" said Tej.

"Got it."

Alex made a bee line for the door leaving the rest of group to their meal.

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Outside.

Alex enjoyed the fresh and open air of the small and quiet town. Nothing like what he was used to in the bustling cities. It was rare for him to go out of the cities even when he lived in Nevada. Every now and then he yearned to take a vacation in the countryside where things were a little less rushed. Looking around, he saw a few locals minding their own business not really bothering to give him a second glance. The people here are probably used to tourists, he thought.

It was less than a minute walk to the garage he saw earlier a couple of blocks away. He was sure he spotted a store that sold some oils and lubricants as well. His car was running low on high performance lubricant so he needed to get some before the group left in the morning.

As he approached the shop he noticed something that wasn't there the first time they passed by. A set of four cars were now parked in front of the store. Not just any cars. They were all high-performance tuner cars. All four had their engines still running.

Alex stared, fascinated by the four cars that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. The first car he spotted closest to him was a red Ford Mustang…no wait, this wasn't an ordinary Mustang. Then he spotted the "GT500" decal on the side skirt and knew this car was a Shelby-tuned GT500 Mustang. He moved in further and spotted a blue BMW M3. He looked closer and spotted a "CSL" badge. Another great performer, he thought, one he used to drool over when looking at car magazines when he was younger.

Next to those to was a Toyota Supra, also obviously tuned with its myriad of aftermarket stickers and striking graphics. Alex briefly listened to each car as e passed them and he could tell through his specially honed hearing that each engine was a masterpiece of engineering. But it was the last car on the row that got his attention the most.

He looked on, fascinated by the silver-and-blue Nissan Skyline GT-R R34. He remembered he used to have a Skyline back in the day, an old R32 which they used as a demo car. Back then, he never really understood the hype over this car, with it being known as the best tuner in the world. He finally understood when he got his hands on one himself.

The car was a technical marvel, not just mechanically but also electronically. A Skyline's settings can be easily tuned through the use of the car's advanced engine management system earning it the infamous moniker of being a "Playstation on wheels". Tune-ups and adjustments took up only a few minutes while in the old days even small tune-ups and adjustments required a full engine rebuild.

On top of that, the car was tough. Really tough. Nissan initially gave the car an engine rated at around 280 hp at most but with the GT-R they put it in a body and chassis that could easily handle four times that power. You don't go into street racing without hearing about the infamous Midnight Club from Japan and their crazy 300 kph antics on Tokyo's famous Shotu Expressway (more famously known as the Wangan route) with the Skyline as the most popular car of choice.

After he himself, got his first taste of the Skyline, Alex finally understood all the legends about it. One legend in particular fascinated him not just because it was unbelievable but also because it was true. He found it quite hilarious that the car was so good that it was actually so good that it was banned in certain motorsport leagues because it kept winning too much.

He walked up the front of the R34 and listened intently to the engine. He had heard Skyline engine's before but this was different. The tones seemed sharper somewhat than a regular Skyline. This engine almost sounded…well, like a racing engine. A professionally assembled racing engine and not some bolt-on job by an amateur tuner. That's when her remembered those limited edition R34's with the N1 engines. Could this be one of them? He listened to it longer with closed eyes, allowing himself to be lost in the melody of the engine running idle.

"Can I help you?" asked somebody.

Alex snapped out of his trance and found himself being stared at strangely by a young-looking blonde haired guy. Alex felt a bit embarrassed. This used to happen quite a bit when he would just zone out admiring someone else's car.

Alex slowly and politely backed away from the Skyline to relax the guy who he assumed to be the owner. "Don't worry bro, I wasn't gonna steal it or anything."

"Well, you looked real fascinated by my ride, though."

"I was really fascinated."

"It's just Nissan," said the blonde guy with a slightly bemused look on his face.

"Yeah, but it's a Nissan with an N1 engine and what I'm estimating to be around 650 bhp at the least."

The blonde guy looked genuinely surprised. "How'd you know that?"

"I could tell by the sound."

The blonde guy simply stared. Alex was used to that look by now. "Let's just say I spend way too much time around cars, dude."

The guy switched to an amused look, not the kind of look where he was laughing at Alex but instead it looked like he seemed to be admiring Alex slightly. "What else could you tell by the sound?"

"Not much. Custom engine block, pistons and camshaft. Bore is about 86, 87 mm probably and the stroke is about 76. Twin ball-bearing turbos. Exhaust manifold seems to be custom as well. The exhaust pipe is wider than normal and the muffler is definitely custom. There also seems to be a new fuel filter. The burn rate sounds pretty sharp. All in all it's a pretty damn good assembly."

The Skyline's owner wore a genuine look of astonishment. "Wow…you sure you don't want to steal my car?"

Alex snickered. "Nah I got my own. Don't look so amazed, man. I'm more amazed with you, having something like this. I was worried you'd turn out to be a ricer."

"Aw, hell no. I ain't no ricer."

"Thank God for that. This is a beautiful machine."

"What about you then?"

"Huh?"

"What's your ride like?"

"You want me to tell you about my ride."

The guy walked up to the front of his car and tapped his hood. "Well you seemed to have figured out my ride. It's only fair I should know about yours a little bit."

Alex smirked. As Kate would attest to, he loved showing off whenever an opportunity arrised. "My car? It's '99 model Nissan Silvia."

The blonde guy looked somewhat impressed.

"With a VQ35HR engine swap."

The blonde guy looked quite impressed.

"With custom twin turbo."

The blonde guy looked very impressed. "Sounds like a mean ride."

Alex smirked proudly. You have no idea, he thought. Just then, three other people came out of the shop carrying boxes of miscellaneous items, fluids, and oils for their cars. They noticed their friend entertaining a bit of company. The oldest looking among them called out. "Yo, Brian! Who's your pal?"

The blonde guy, who Alex now assumes to be named Brian, turned to his friends. "Just a local."

"Oh, I'm not local," said Alex.

Brian turned back toward him. "Is that right?"

"I'm just here on…a little business trip of sorts."

"Funny, so am I. You gonna be here in Flagstaff long?"

"I'm leaving tomorrow. I'm just doing some shopping now. Now that I've mentioned it, does that place back there have any good oils," Alex asked to all of them in general.

"Actually, yeah, they got some pretty high-quality stiff in there." Answered the younger man in a slight British accent as he walked back to his car, the Toyota Supra.

"Well, we're heading out right now," said Brian. "We got a few more things to do before heading for Vegas."

Alex was obviously surprised at that. "You're going to Las Vegas?"

"Yeah. That's where _my_ business trip is going."

Alex took a second to process this information. This guy had a car that could tear off the asphalt at any race track and he was currently going to Las Vegas for some kind of business venture. What are the odds? Alex slowly smirked. He knew he just found himself a new rival. And this one was most likely worth triple his weight in petrol.

"Yo, Brian, let's move!" called out the woman as she climbed into her BMW M3.

Brian made a motion to get into his own car and prepare to set off. "Well, I gotta go. Too bad I couldn't see your ride as well. Sounds like something I'd wanna steal."

Alex grinned visibly. "Who knows? You might get to see it sooner than you think."

Brian was a little confused at that statement for a moment. Alex saw that. But then realization hit Brian and his expression slowly changed to a wry grin that matched Alex's own. At that very moment the two men saw eye-to-eye and knew what was possibly in store for the in the near future. Fate was playing with fire again. This time it was fire fueled by gasoline and black rubber.

"I never got your name, by the way," said Brian.

"It's Alex."

"Brian."

"See you in Vegas, Brian."

"I guess you might. Good luck."

Alex couldn't resist and playfully retorted. "Oh, I think you're the one who's gonna need more luck than me, buddy."

Brian laughed that off like Alex was a long time drinking buddy. He gave Alex one last nod and climbed into his car. Alex got out of the way as the four cars started to move out of the small dirt parking area in front of the auto shop. Brian's Skyline was the last to leave and as he did, he over-revved the engine as if to say, "see you later" to Alex who chuckled lightly at the gesture.

Now the stage was set again for Alex. He was finally seeing just what he had to look forward to in Vegas. He now knew that this was gonna be one of the most memorable portions of his life. And he was gonna give it his all. No holds barred, no quarter spared.

Funny, he thought. He faintly remembered that Suki once mentioned she used to know a guy named Brian.

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Author's note: Next chapter, the gang will arrive in Vegas and the real action can finally begin. To those of you wondering whether I'm gonna insert other characters from the movies, well to tell you the truth I don't know myself. Brian wasn't in the story when I originally thought it up but I wanted to insert him into the story in a way that worked for me. Same goes with the other characters. I'm currently exploring ways of maybe inserting Dom's character and even Sean. But it'll all depend on what I think will work well with the story.

In the meantime pls R&R.


	18. Chapter 16

Voc-Tech Airfield, Las Vegas, Navada.

The first stage of _Ultimate Street_ was about to begin.

Here at the abandoned Voc-Tech Airfield, a former private airfield hosting aeronautics programs which was abandoned now sits in the edge of Las Vegas, was alive not with the sound of planes but of cars with really big engines and even bigger sound systems. Parked across the open fields of the airfield were all the teams competing that particular night, accompanied by hundreds of spectators.

A couple of cars were already showboating around, particularly, inside the unused hanger in the northeast end of the airfield. On the cemented floor there was a tricked-out Lancer Evo VIII doing donuts using dyed wheels to produced colored smoke which entertained the crowd. Around the show-boating Evo was a bunch of young men and women whooping and hollering at the driver, typical youth culture crowed being hyper and energetic.

However, at the other end of the hanger there was different crowd.

At the west end of the hanger, blocked off by red velvet rope and a couple of burly looking bouncers, was converted into what looked like a semi-fancy restaurant with high-class looking tables, chairs and people in expensive diner dresses sipping wine from crystal glasses and dining on fine meals on expensive looking plates and utensils. Professional looking waiters tended t the guest serving a choice of red or white wine and delivering food from the caterer's booths. The high-end didn't seem at all to mind the noisy crowd just a stone's throw away.

After all they were here for the cars as well.

Seated at the farthest end of the hanger, in a large table, was a well dressed, large, middle aged man dinning on a whole roasted chicken, two bowls of mashed potatoes, and a big bowl of soup. The man was rather plump, enough that he had a noticeable double chin and a waistline exceeding his shoulders by a good margin. Surrounding him were other well dressed men and women eating considerably smaller servings.

A waiter walked up to the center of the long table right in front of the large man offering a bottle of wine. "Another glass, Mr. Sinclair?"

The large man, Mr. Sinclair apparently, looked up to the waiter and replied "No, thank you my good man. I'm afraid I don't hold my alcohol too well and I hope not to miss the night's excitement."

"Can I offer you something from the café then?"

"Espresso. Mocha Latte."

"Right away sir."

As the waiter moved away, Sinclair turned his attention to the crowd of youths in the other side of the hanger. The Lan Evo had gone and was now replaced by two guys, each riding his own custom-painted Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14, doing tricks like wheelies, stoppies, and donuts.

"You sure do know how to put on a show, Sinclair," said a woman seated next to him.

Sinclair turned to her. She was a middles-aged Hispanic woman wearing in a red cocktail dress. "My dear, this is just the start of the festivities. The main event is yet to happen."

"Yes. And I hope the turnout is better this year. I heard we feature some rare talents in the rosters this year."

"Indeed," Sincalir turned to the man sitting next to him. "Isn't that right, sir?"

Virgil looked up from his drink and turned to Sinclair, only with a hint of detest in his eyes. "Indeed."

"You surprise me. I wouldn't think for you to show up in Vegas, let alone bring your own team to Ultimate Street."

"Well, I have been given that sort of reputation to surprise people, Mr. Sinclair. Though I wouldn't have expected you'd make me a guest of honor at your table."

"We go way back, my friend. It's a the least I can do after such a long time."

He was lying through his teeth and Virgil knew it. He tried to look like he was buying that lie.

"This team you assembled," continued Sinclair. "Are they any good?"

Virgil grinned. "You have no idea."

Just then another waiter walked up to the table while carrying a cup of hot coffee on a tray and faced Sinclair. The waiter set the coffee down politely. "Here's your espresso sir. And I'm here to report that the live feed over the internet is up. We have half-a-million hits already and still increasing."

"Fantastic," said Sinclair as he took a sip of his espresso.

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Across the information superhighway.

A live stream was feeding _Ultimate Street_ to thousands of receiving computers, laptops and cell phones across the country as the show was about to begin. Those with access to the feed got an almost road-side seat of the action as cameras captured the action from all the closest angles. The live video feed was currently showing an over head view of the track to be used in the first stage of the race, showing the crowds and the cars. In the background was heavy with hip-hop tunes and the voices of two unseen commentators.

"Yo, yo, yo!! What is up, all you petrol-heads?! Yeah! This is your main man, DJ D-rail, in the house! And sitting right wit' me here is _my_ main man, Jarod Hindhaugh. What's happenin' Jar?"

"Thanks D, and welcome all you racing enthusiast out there to Ultimate Street. I'm Jarod Hindhaugh and we'll be bringing you the action as it happens on the surface. Our cameras will make sure all you who are watching right now the best seat in the house."

"That's right, ya'll. And wit' this year's turn out of racers, I can tell, man, it's gonna be a hot, hot night here in Vegas, baby. Whoo!!"

"Alright, if you're on with us, I don't think we need to tell you what's gonna happen next but since we're getting paid to do so, we're gonna do it anyway."

"Alright, listen up, boys and girls. This is gonna be a tournament style competition divided into five stages, as I'm sure ya'll are already informed about. And if you ain't, what the hell do we have that website for?! Just click something, I'm sure you'll find whatever you need to know, dawg! We're here now at the old Voc-Tec Airfield were the fist stage is about to go down. Yo, Jar, break it down for the home audience."

"Sure thing, D."

The video switched from a shot of the crowd to an overhead shot of the airfield's old runway. The old runway was completely made out of nothing but soil and gravel, completely unpaved.

"Alright, alright, here's how it's gonna happen," said Jarod. "The course will consist of the airfield's 2 mile long runway. Both teams start at the east end of the runway. Each member of the team will drive down all the way to the west end and once they cross the west end line, they must turn around and drive all the way back to the east end line. Once the car has crossed the east end line, the next team member will start their run. First team to have all four members complete their runs wins the race. It's that simple, people."

"Oh, yeah! Whoo! Let's get this thing started already!"

And as D-rail said, the action started. The first teams to participate were already on the start/finish line at the runway's east end accompanied by the cheers of the excited crowd. The first two cars to start were a third generation Toyota MR2 and a VW Golf GTi. It was only a moment before a beautiful young woman in skimpy attire stepped onto the middle of the runway between the two cars and stood there like a runway model would.

She pointed to the MR2 who revved his engine in response signaling his readiness. She then pointed to the Golf who did the same thing. She raised her arms up in the air, waited for exactly three seconds then brought them down. Both cars were off in a cloud of dust.

The MR2, with its light weight and mid-engine layout, took an early lead due to superior balance. The Golf GTi lagged bay about half a second as both cars thundered down to the first half-mile mark The MR2 kept its lead all the way up to the half-way point of the track but that's when the Golf driver made his move. A switch was thrown somewhere inside the Golf which in turn activated VF-Engineering Stage 2 Supercharger under the hood which practically doubled the power and torque instantly.

The Golf driver almost had his wrists twisted badly from the sudden torque steer, a major performance concern with front-wheel drive cars.

Most modern FWD cars are built well enough that torque steer is no longer an issue. It usually only becomes an issue when a FWD car is heavily tuned for power (usually when the engine reaches an output above 250 bhp). The phenomenon occurs when during sudden acceleration the torque from the engine transfers to the steering mechanism causing the car to suddenly pull to one side. Many drivers do their best to control torque steer through steady acceleration, reinforcing the drive shafts, or simply using their own arm muscle.

The Golf driver knew how close a call it was when he flipped that switch. His car was actually very close to flipping at that point. However the risk was worth it as his sudden addition of power was clearly showing as he slow gained ground on the MR2 and eventually passed the car as they reached the last half-mile marker before the west end line. The golf driver too the time to look down on his speedometer and saw that he was doing 155 mph, his car's top speed.

Approaching the west end line the Golf was ahead of the MR2 by about a 2 car lengths. In the middle of the line was a large painted barrel to indicate where the cars were supposed to turn. The Golf went for a tight turn and braked hard at the same time turning off his supercharger.

The MR2 was having none of that. The driver of the MR2 made a bold move and swerved in front of the Golf's path as the European hatchback was just completing its turn. The Golf driver reacted by turning the car too far inwards to avoid a collision and ended up having to brake even harder. The MR2 in the meantime did a Scandinavian flick with the help of his handbrake and made a wide drifting slide around the barrel.

By the time both cars were facing the right direction, the MR2 was about to retake its lead over the Golf. The Golf driver was starting to see that the MR2 was coming closer and would soon pass his own car. That's when he activated his supercharger again.

The moment he did, that torque steer kicked in again and the Golf driver struggled to maintain control. The MR2 driver was waiting for just this opportunity. The MR2 driver steered his car towards the Golf and purposely bumped the Golf just behind the rear wheel.

The result was that the Golf driver suddenly found himself struggling to maintain control of his ride and had to slow down to avoid a major disaster. In the meantime, the MR2 was leaving his opponent in the dust.

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Some time passed since the start of Stage 1.

Since then, six teams have already completed. That meant six happy teams that were moving on to the next stage and six teams that were going home with their wallets a little thinner. The audience, both at home and at the spot, were none short of a good show and they showed their enthusiasm throughout each race that occurred.

At least the majority of the audience.

The other bit of the audience, that is to say, the teams who have yet to compete, were short on enthusiasm as they concentrated more on their opponents who could very well by their greatest obstacles to a really, really bit pile of cash. Among them was team _Wyldcadrz._

"So, what do you think?" asked Alex towards Suki.

Suki was replaying a bunch of recorded video files on Kate's laptop. The videos showed the scenes from the six previous races, highlights showing off the skills of the best drivers of the winning and even some of the loosing teams.

Suki looked towards Alex. "Looks like tough competition, as you said."

"Hey, it wouldn't be fun if it was easy, right?"

Rome walked in on the two. "Yeah, but does it have to be this _much_ fun?"

Kate walked into the conversation. "Bring 'em on! I love a challenge."

"That's just so you, Kate," said Alex.

"Hell, no way we'd be as good as we are if we only raced push-overs all our lives, right?"

"I guess…"

Suki grinned in amusement at the confidence those two always seemed to have. "Well, just because their tough doesn't mean we can't beat them."

"_Can't_ beat them? What would ever give you that idea?" Kate flashed Suki a cat-like smirk.

"You never feel nervous, do you?"

"Can never afford to be. No matter what the odds, it's always best to take them on with your game face. Otherwise it's just pointless to even try. That's what being a true competitor is like."

"Well, I see you're up to it, but what about your car? Not just you, Kate, but all our cars. From what I'm seeing this stage is all about straight line speed."

"Don't worry about that. Jimmy and Ashley already set up your car for high-speed, right?"

"My car isn't exactly a dragster."

"Oh, don't worry about that too much, Suki," said Jimmy as walked into the conversation. "I've remapped the engine management system on the S2000 to provide peak power at the high revs so all you have to do, Suki, is to keep that needle in the red. I've also reworked your nitrous kit a bit for a long duration burst. With that setup the S2000 should reach a top speed of about 170 and it'll do it in less than ten seconds."

"Hmm, maybe I could increase that with a bit of weight shaving."

"Uh, Suki you already removed the stereo system in the trunk, I don't think you can get any lighter than that."

"How about if I remove the passenger seat first?"

"Don't think that would make much of a difference, girl."

Kate smiled mischievously. "Why don't you drive naked? That should save a couple ounces of weight."

Suki turned her head and stared at Kate. "This is serious! I need to find a way to get some more speed out of my ride." She turned her head back to the guys who were actually seriously contemplating what Kate said and Suki noticed. "You guys!"

"We're kidding!" said Alex. "Though, honestly babe I don't think we can get anything much out of the motor at this point. But a street race is not nearly as straight forward as it looks."

"What's that supposed to mean, brah?" asked Rome as he gave him an inquisitive look.

Alex simply flashed back a knowing smile. Suki immediately picked up on this. He had a plan.

"I'm listening, stud. Whatcha got in mind?"

Alex made sure everybody was listening before he started. "Ok, here's what I'm thinking. The S2000 may not have a big engine and that much power but the thing is…that car is really low…and pretty narrow. Also, I noticed that the track actually gets pretty dusty."

There was a bit of silence as Alex let that statement sink into the rest of the group. Suki was the first one to get it, being the most familiar with the car.

Indeed, the S2000 was very low and very narrow. Honda designed it to be a proper sports car, a rival to popular pickings such as the BMW Z4, Porsche Boxster, and the ever popular Mazda Miata. It had to be low to the ground to give it a nice firm handling and feel of the road on the driver's back to give that sporty experience. The stock car was only 50 inches tall. Suki's car, with is lowered high performance suspension and low profile tires, was 47 inches tall making it the shortest car in the whole tournament. Suki figured it out then and there. Alex knew his stuff. Speed wasn't just determined by the power of an engine.

The key to Alex's plan was aerodynamics.

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On another side of the crowds.

Team _Thunder Hall_ gathered in front of their cars, which were getting more than the fair share of onlookers and admirers, particularly the Leader's classic '64 GTO.

Derek Lynn had been a fan of muscle cars since before he could learn to talk. He saw his very first street race at the age of three. He was probably way too young to have remembered it clearly but somehow, that night when his mom had to visit grandma at the hospital living him in the care of his dragster crazy father who decided to take him to a local street race two miles from their house.

At that moment, his life's path was decided. By the time he was in high school he spent nearly every single bit of cash he had on those rent-a-racer Ford Mustangs and went out to the local drag strip whenever possible. By the time he could afford his own car, he wouldn't accept anything with less than eight cylinders and wasn't American.

A trip to a secondhand car dealer was all that his family could afford at the time. But among those heaps and wrecks of all Toyotas and Hyundais, he saw it. A rusting old '64 Pontiac GTO. He went to it like a moth to the flame, he touched and caressed that car like it was a delicate woman. He opened the door, got inside, and, even though at that moment his nose was invaded by the smell of mildew and moss, he knew he didn't want to drive any other car.

He spent his whole life around that car. It was what inspired him to take up mechanical engineering. What time he didn't spend on school, sleep, food, and his current job, he spent on that car. And the devotion shows in his machine.

The fully restored '64 GTO, tuned with custom-made 4 inch aluminum cylinder head and combustion chambers, Performer 4-bbl 800 cfm carburetor with electric choke, Victor aluminum intake manifold, dual inlet fuel lines, fuel filters, and supercharger from Edelbrock, has taken Derek to whole new heights of street racing.

This passion seemed to have rubbed off on his younger brother, Carl.

Carl Lynn shared his brother's passion for muscle cars and racing in almost all the same ways. Though unlike his brother, he didn't obsess over the classics and preferred the modern age of muscle. His tricked out 2004 Pontiac GTO was a testament to that.

Unlike Derek, Carl was born, after the start of the space race. And just like everybody from his generation, they all wanted a little thing called modern technology. And unlike his brother who wasn't that active in the street racing world, he was very active, looking for races at for most of the weeknights. While his older brother liked to only compete in high stakes racing, Carl started out small and gradually built up his skill and confidence as well as his knowledge of cars.

It was through this constant racing that he met Victor Marquez in his 2008 Dodge Challenger and Alexia Manson in her Corvette Z06. Like Carl, they both shared a passion for modern muscle cars. It wasn't long before a friendship developed and a little later the three had formed a team that dominated the local drag strip.

As their street racing careers progressed further, their ambitions got higher, culminating here in their appearance in _Ultimate Street_. Carl had asked his big brother to join them knowing he needed the best team he could build with the best drivers he knew. He also knew that Derek would not pass up such an opportunity. It was time to prove then and there that muscle triumphs over all in the realm of petrolheads.

Alexia appeared from out of the crowed and approached her teammates. "Guys, looks like were' up next."

"'Bout time," said Derek. "Let's just get this over with."

"We're up against this team called _Wyldcadrz_. Yo, Vic, can you check 'em out for us?"

Victor had a laptop sitting on the hood of his Challenger. Loaded onto it was the _Ultimate Street_ application. "Got it," he said to Alexia and typed in the search query.

Through this software, which was connected to a network running the whole tournament, teams can check out all the relevant information they need. Firstly was the standings. Teams can see immediately which teams are moving on to the next stage and which teams have lost and are eliminated. That was the default setting.

Next to that, teams can request information about other teams although this information was limited. The information given will only show the team's name, home state, members' general bio data (name, age, gender, etc.) and the members' cars. However it won't show the modifications made to the cars, their performance data, as well as the drivers' own racing history. Just enough to give the team who was enquiring a little something to think about their opponents.

Victor started chuckling as he read the results. "Aw, man. This is too easy."

Carl knew that reaction well. "Imports?"

"Yeah. However they do have one muscle car in the group. One of them is driving a '72 Plymouth 'Cuda."

"Man's got good taste in cars," commented Derek offhandedly.

"But the rest of them are imports. We got a Nissan Silvia, Honda S2k, and a Subaru Impreza."

"Small pickings," said Derek with a malicious smirk. "Just another bunch of wannabes driving their mommies' rice rockets."

"This race is hours," said Carl. "Practically gift wrapped."

Alexia made to move to her car. "Let's get to the line. I can't wait to dust these clowns."

"Yeah, let's."

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Meanwhile.

"Great. Muscle heads," said Kate as she was looking at the info for _Thunder Hall_ on her laptop computer. This little offhand comment got her a look from Rome.

She noticed. "Not that there's anything wrong with muscle cars."

"Relax, I get it," said Rome in a bemused tone. "I know the debate."

"Muscle vs. Imports," said Jimmy. "When will the madness stop? Anyway, you think these guys are like that?"

"I'd rather they did," said Alex.

"Why?"

"They'd underestimate us that way. Makes winning a bit easier."

"Anyway, if it's a contest of power, we can match them, whatever they got," said Rome. "The 'Cuda and the Silvia can trump anything with power."

"But what about the Impreza and the S2000?" asked Suki.

"Don't worry about that," said Alex. "Just follow the plan I told you about and the S2000 will be fine. And don't worry the Impreza either. That four wheel drive should make up for the power gap. We'll finish this easily."

"Yeah, don't worry about me," said Kate beaming with confidence. "I've put more mods in that car than I can care to remember. I'll be able to beat anything this tournament throws at me."

Suki looked at her two teammates, Alex and Kate. She hadn't know them for too long and she was often amazed at their overconfidence. Those two never seemed to be unnerved by anything.

"Do you guys ever get nervous?" she asked.

"Yeah, all the time," they both answered blatantly.

Suki was silent with a raised eyebrow.

Kate smirked. "We just hide it really well. In the circles we grew up in, you _cannot_ show weakness…ever. I'm an LA chick remember. And I don't care what you've heard of New Yorkers."

Suki looked bemused. "Let's just get to the start line."

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Minutes later.

"Alright D, looks like we're getting back to the action," said Jarod. "Up next is team _Thunder Hall_ and Team _Wyldcardz _already up on the starting line."

"Alright! Kepin' the show rollin'," said D-rail. "Looks like we got a lotta muscle with this race. I mean, we got five muscle cars on that track right now. You know if it's a V8 it's gonna make some noise. And Looks like we got some imports down there as well. This is gonna rock, Jar."

"Right you are, D. With one team consisting completely of V8 muscle cars, this ought to be an interesting battle of power and torque. Rest assured ladies and gents D and I will be right here bringng the action to you as it happens by the second."

"Yeeha! Lets it get this thing started!"

On the starting line, Rome's Cuda was the first to go for _Wyldcardz_. Next to him was Alexia's Corvette. The two drivers briefly exchanged looks through their windows, neither one showing a hint of nervousness or a plan to lose. Both were in it to win it. They revved their engines loudly to entertain the crowed and give the other person something to think about before the start of the race.

The same young woman who started the first race stepped out onto the track, in-between the two cars. Just like last time she pointed to Rome and he responded by revving his engine. She pointed to Alexia who replied in the same fashion. She raised her arms up in the air, waited exactly three seconds, then dropped her arms down.

In an explosive cloud of dust and engine noise, the race began.

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Author's note: Hope you guys don't think this story is dead just yet. Sorry if the update is a bit late, kinda lost track of time for a bit. Anyway, here's the official start of _Ultimate Street _and the first race of the _Wyldcardz_. Lots more racing to come next chapter. In the meantime pls. R&R.


	19. Chapter 17

Voc-Tech Airfield

"Hello everyone and welcome back to the action," said Jarod, "and boy do we mean action. Isn't that right, D?"

"Word, dawg," said DJ D-rail. "Its Team _Wyldcardz_ versus Team _Thunder Hall_ goin' on and we are under way with the first race. a classic Plymouth 'Cuda against a band spankin' new Corvette Z06. Old school versus new school, brotha'!,"

"Yes, D. You'd imagine the newer Z06 would dominate here but it seems that 'Cuda is pretty well tuned and putting up quite a fight. Halfway down the first stretch the two cars are still neck and neck. Who will reach the turnaround first?!"

On the dirt runway, the two muscle cars were trading the lead like kids trading new baseball cards. Rome in his 'Cuda was not giving the Alexia in the Z06 an easy time. Less than half a mile left till the cone at the west end of the runway where the two cars had to turn around still without a definite leader.

"Not for long," mumbled Alexia, as she pushed a little red button on her steering wheel.

That little red button in turn activated a spray of nitrous oxide that pumped into the engine's intake. The added nitrous oxide added more explosive force to the fuel/air mixture and thus basically forced the pistons and camshaft to work harder and produce more power resulting in an instantaneous burst of speed and torque.

The Z06 flew ahead of the 'Cuda and quickly gained a decent lead. Though Rome wasn't getting nervous just yet. It was still pretty early in the race and Rome noticed that the Z06 may have just committed a blunder in activating her nitrous so late during the straight away. More than likely, Rome thought, she had underestimated his car's performance, thinking she could easily outrun the forty year old classic. Had she activated her nitrous system earlier, she might have gotten a significant lead.

With 500 yards to go, the Z06 found that it had rather little distance to break and make the turn. In her attempt to gain the lead quickly, she had overseen this little error. She was too used to quarter-mile drag races it seemed.

"Dammit!" exclaimed Alexia as she slammed her brakes. The Z06 kicked up a load of dust around it nearly obscuring it from view. Alexia found herself struggling a little with shifting down to a lower gear to make the turn properly. This was all the opportunity Rome needed.

"My turn, sistah," he said 200 yards from the west end line. Ever the show-off, Rome performed the classic Scandinavian flick and brought his car into a wide powerslide around the cone, easy in the not so grippy gravel and dirt road.

Because the Z06 had a little trouble coming out of that turn, Rome's 'Cuda was able to make up the distance. Both cars re-crossed the west end line at more or less the same time and were back to neck and neck.

"Shit! He's better than I thought," exclaimed Alexia, finally realizing just how much in a bind she is.

As the two cars crossed the west end line again and began their two mile run back to the east end line, they were neck and neck yet again. Alexia would have none of that. She was determined to prove that she was the better driver here.

"Plenty of road left," she said to herself. "I still got a chance to finish this my way."

Alexia reached for that red button to activate her nitrous systems again. she only had one tank full of nitrous left but it would last for a good mile if she set that nozzle correctly. She was getting ready to push, waiting for the one mile marker. On his side, Rome was closely observing his opponent, making sure she wouldn't get too far ahead.

"Both cars are neck and neck yet again. It looks like a battle of straight up horsepower down there, D," said Jarod. "The Corvette is barely gaining any ground of the classic 'Cuda and they are just about to reach the mile marker."

"If one of these cats, is gonna do somethin' they better do it now," said D-rail.

Indeed, that's what both drivers on the track thought as well. But for Rome, he was just waiting for Alexia to make a move.

She did. A few yards after passing that mile marker, Alexia activated her last nitrous tank. The Corvette Z06 once again took off like a rocket ahead of the 'Cuda. However Rome was not without his options either.

"You think you won, baby?!" he exclaimed excitedly. "No way! I got something for you right here!" Rome pressed his own little red button which activated his own nitrous kit. Unlike Alexia's Corvette, Rome's nitrous system was set up to give one large burst of nitrous to instantly double his horsepower and torque. As soon as that nitrous hit the cylinders, the 'Cuda popped a wheelie for some distance, causing the crowds to go wild.

Alexia peered at her rear-view mirror and went wide-eyed at the sight of the 'Cuda rapidly approaching from her flank.

"Aww, hell no!" Her reaction was immediate, She immediately swerved right in front of the 'Cuda's path in an attempt to force to slow down. In his car, Rome saw the move and knew what was going on. He flashed a confident smile to himself.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "Ain't gonna fall for that again, homegirl."

With a bit of distance still between them, Rome made a turn to the right, Alexia was watching him as he was charging in and moved in front of his way again. But this was a feint. Rome had tricked her into providing an opening for him and he rapidly turned left, letting all of that momentum he built up with the spray to cruise him straight to the lead.

Alexia was completely caught off-guard by this move and couldn't maneuver in time to block the 'Cuda. Rome cruised right past her as they reached the last quarter mile before the east end line. With a speed of over 160 mph, Rome was now untouchable to Alexia who had lost all her momentum from that wild maneuvering. She was left in the dust as Rome's 'Cuda crossed the east end line with up to fifty yards to spare.

"And the first car to cross the line is the 'Cuda from _Wyldcardz!_"exclaimed Jarod. "And next up for them is the Subaru Impreza that is now launching off the line!"

From her parked position, Kate's Impreza rumbled to life and jetted off the line. It picked up momentum quickly, thanks to its phenomenal AWD system working the wheels. About a second-and-a-half later Alexia's Corvette crossed the line as well. From the other side of the track, Victor, in his Dodge Challenger, was just leaving the line

"Them _Thunder Hall_ cats have got their next driver on the road," said D-Rail, "In a brand spankin' new Dodge Challenger too, man!"

"Like the Mustang and the Camaro, it's just one of those legends you can't kill, D," said Jarod. "A classic through and through. Now let's see if these two modern street legends can duke it out!"

The Impreza was a good 100 yards off the line when the Challenger just got going. Kate was determined to keep that lead of hers for as long as she can. Despite being heavily modified for power, her car was still pretty much tuned for autocross and rally style races. At her top speed she'll probably be able to touch 180 or so mph but that's going to take a long time. Longer than the Challenger she reckoned.

In a straight line drag race like this, She knew she would eventually lose out to a tuned V8 like the Challenger. Kate simply had to milk the lead for all its worth. She still had nitrous oxide on her side but chances are her opponent had it too (hell this is the street racing world, _everybody_ had nitrous).

For his part, Victor, had tuned his Challenger the classic way. Polishing the intake and exhaust manifold, adding a custom made, wide-diameter exhaust pipe, custom made, 4-inch pistons and adding a little bit of something-something to the fuel mix.

People would be amazed how simply polishing the inside of the manifold would add quite a bit of power to the engine. Having a polished intake meant smother flow of the fuel/air mixture into the cylinders and it also helped to keep that fuel/are mixture clean. Any impurities in the fuel usually meant a weaker, less effective explosion on the chamber. To compliment this, Victor also installed a K&N air filter unit to hlp the fuel mix better.

Polishing the exhaust manifold also helps because it reduces back pressure. If the exploded gasses in an engine does not smoothly leave the cylinders, it creates back pressure on the pistons which in turn puts pressure on the crankshaft and the whole drivetrain in general, taking up precious horsepower. Contrary to popular belief, changing the stock muffler to a bigger and, annoyingly, noisier custom muffler actually does increase power. Couple that with a custom-made wide diameter Borla exhaust pipe and manifold and you can increase a good engine's power by a good 30 percent if done right.

"Ok, miss ricer," said Victor. "Let's see what you got."

The Challenger gave chase quickly and was slowly closing the gap. By the time they reached the one mile marker, the Challenger had cut down the Impreza's lead by half. In another half-mile he would be breathing down her rear windshield.

Kate looked at her rearview mirror and spotted the Challenger gradually getting closer, even in that think dust cloud she was generating. If it weren't for his headlights, she probably wouldn't be able to spot him in that cloud. She focused all her attention on that barrel ahead of her and the victory she could get by getting to it first.

"As the two cars approach the west end line, the Subaru is holding a slim lead," said Jarod. "The Challenger is poised to make a move here. What will it be?"

Kate simply chose to ignore the Challenger for now. That was not how she was taught how to drive. Focus on the road ahead. Approaching the west end line, and the barrel right in the middle of it, the Subaru Impreza was not slowing down one bit.

"You crazy, woman?" asked Victor to no one in particular. He saw how close they were to crossing and if they didn't slow down they would overshoot the line. Was she waiting to brake as late as possible? How short does she expect her breaking distance to be?

Kate simply focused on the barrel in the middle of the line, decorates by florescent graffiti making it very visible. She ignored the Challenger which was almost neck and neck with her at this point.

"Wait for it..." mumbled Kate to herself. The barrel was 300 yards away.

Victor in the Challenger, was switching his sight from the barrel to the Impreza's driver next to him to the speedometer on his dash. They were still going at 150 or so mph.

200 yards to the line ahead.

Kate didn't slowdown one bit and kept her foot on the gas. If she were to look to her side, she would have seen the Challenger start to back down. Victor was hovering his left foot over the clutch and was ready to transfer his right foot from the gas to the brake. But he couldn't yet, no matter how nervous he was getting.

He was waiting for Kate to brake first. But that wasn't gonna happen.

140 yards to the line ahead.

In the Subaru, Kate was still calm and cool, never taking her eyes off the barrel ahead. Victor was starting to sweat.

100 yards to the line ahead.

Victor lost his nerve. "Dammit!" he exclaimed as he slammed his foot on the brake and clutch as he frantically braked and shifted down. The Subaru zoomed ahead, unaffected by her opponent's move. Kate was still focusing on the barrel completely. "Almost there..." she mumbled.

40 yards to the barrel ahead. "Now!" exclaimed Kate.

In the flash of a quarter of a second, Kate's left foot kicked the clutch and her shifting hand shifted down from 6th gear to 1st. in the next quarter second, the foot that was on the gas was lifted off and switched over to the brake, her shifting hand went from the stick shift to hand brake then pulled it, and her remaining hand, turned the steering wheel 180 degrees to the right.

In the next half second, the Subaru Impreza turned a complete 180 degrees less than twenty yards from the west end line. Within the next half second, Kate straightened the steering again, put her hand on the shift stick and hovered her foot above the gas.

Pure momentum brought the car across the west end line while it was facing backwards. The Impreza crossed the line, rear end first, went around the barrel with less than a foot to spare between the front bumper and the barrel, and once passed the barrel, the Impreza's wheels spun like mad and the car jetted off back towards the east end line.

On her way, Kate brushed past Victor in his Challenger, flashing him a barely noticeable smirk. As well as causing him to lose a bit of control since he was caught off guard by the move.

"Hot damn! Did you see that move?!" exclaimed D-Rail. "That car was practically kissing the barrel, man! That was a tight move, dawg. Figuratively _and_ literally."

"Yes, D, it was," concurred Jarod. "And with that fantastic move, it seems the Impreza has regained a lot of the lead it lost. Just goes to show you muscle isn't everything. Now the Challenger is making his turn around the barrel as well and crossing back to head for the finish. Let's see if that engine can muster enough grunt to get back the race."

"These _Wyldcardz_ got some crazy moves. These cats seem to always have something up them sleeves. Better be careful _Thunder Hall_ this ain't no push-over ricer club. These dudes got game!"

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Meanwhile, back at the hanger.

The crowd in the hanger, both upper and lower social classes, watched with eager anticipation on the flat screen TV's that brought the race to the crowd in high definition.

At the far table, Sinclair watched carefully, not really sharing the excitement of the young crowd or even those around him. He looked like a judge at a county fair, scrutinizing entries in a 'best pumpkin' contest. This team, _Wyldcardz_, the team Virgil was hosting, was something that was really grabbing his attention.

Seated next to him Virgil was enjoying the sight of his own team genuinely kicking the exhaust out of the competition. He knew then and there that he made the perfect choice when he recruited Alex and his friends.

"Quite a crew you've put together," commented Sinclair.

"Thank you," said Virgil.

"You have...quite an eye for talent."

"Again, thank you. I do try to over-achieve."

"And do you expect them to go all the way?"

"To the final stage, you mean? Oh yes. I should expect so. I mean, after all that money I _lost_ to you during _Ultimate Street_ two years ago, I've been meaning to make that up...in spades if I can help it."

Sinclair flashed a convincing smile. "Glad to see you on your feet again. Must have been quite a struggle for you."

Virgil turned to him with an expression Sinclair couldn't read. It looked like he was pleased with something but it also looked like he was hiding a bit of malice.

"Let's not dwell in the past, old friend," said Virgil rather cheerfully. "There's a lot of racing left to go. Let's just enjoy the show."

Virgil contently looked back towards the screen displaying the race as it happened outside while taking a sip of his fine wine. Sinclair did the same but with a lot less enthusiasm. His observing eyes continued to scrutinize the teams as they race.

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Back on the track.

Kate's Impreza has already reached the one mile mark and she still had a pretty decent lead over her opponent who was slowly catching up. But that was okay. Her chances of finishing first were almost grunted. She didn't bother looking at her rearview mirror to check if the Challenger was close or not.

It wouldn't matter anyway. Not because she was in the lead but because a her car was generating such a big dust cloud behind her that a car could never be spotted unless it was at least three feet from the rear bumper and had its headlights on.

About 3 seconds behind her, Victor in the Challenger was having a frustrating time. His car slowly pulled in closer to the Impreza and shortened the gap between them. He was never one to quite while in the middle of a battle.

However, just as they reached that last half-mile mark, Victor got a nasty surprise when the Subaru suddenly activated it's nitrous as indicated by the bright blue flame that came spitting out of the exhaust pipe. The Impreza zoomed ahead.

By the time the dust cleared, the Impreza was long gone. Victor slammed his hand on the steering wheel and cursed loudly. "Goddammit!"

. "Two more cars from each team to go," said Jarod "Up next is the S2000 from _Wyldcardz_ and the new GTO from _Thunder Hall_ going down the track. Thanks to the Impreza's sweet moves, looks like the S2000 will get a bit of a head start. And here comes the Impreza now across the line!"

The Impreza crossed the line at over a 150 mph. The millisecond it did, Suki shifted into first and floored the gas pedal. The S2000 took off the line leaving behind a cloud of dust as usual.

On the other side of the track, a very annoyed pair of Lynn brothers watched as their predicted game plan was crumbling to pieces.

"Dammit!" exclaimed Carl through his open window. "What are we gonna do now?!"

"Relax." said Derek through his open window. "We still got a chance here. Use that fancy new nitrous kit of yours as soon as you get to 5th gear. You should be able to catch up with that Honda at the last quarter mile before the turn. Once at the turn, try and screw up your opponent by taking the inside line, got me?"

"Alright, got it."

"You better make sure you pull this off little brother."

Just as Derek finished his sentence, the Challenger finally crossed the line. Derek was off in a fraction of a heartbeat. The GTO was tuned for a quick sprint off the line. Carl had to sacrifice a little top speed for that but for drag races, it's usually who gets off the line first. And even with his reduced top speed he would still be much faster that any old four-banger like that Honda. He was determined to win this no matter what.

Meanwhile on the other side of the track, Alex watched as Carl in his '04 GTO left the line and began to chase down Suki's S2000. Rome was out of his car and walked towards Alex's open window.

"What do you think, man?" he asked Alex. "We got a pretty big lead here. We might just not need that little plan of yours."

"A race isn't over till it's over, buddy." This can still go either way. At least we know Suki has a plan b."

"I guess that's right. But still, gotta look at the bright side man."

"I thought avoiding the _bright_ side was the plan for Suki," he said with a bit of a chuckle.

Rome chuckled a bit too. That really was the plan. And if anyone could pull it off it would be Suki. Hopefully they won't need that plan. But as Rome would know, anything can happen on the streets.

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Up ahead.

"The Honda S2000 is now halfway down the runway and the GTO is still a ways behind. That dude better haul it, dawg," said D-Rail, "if he plans on winning and--whoa wait up! What's up? Looks like the GTO just turned on the spray! That brotha' is now thunderin' down the line! Looks like this run is still a toss-up, eh Jar?"

"Looks like it, D. At this rate the new GTO will reach the S2000 within that last quarter mill till the turn around. It's gonna be interesting to see what the GTO driver has in store."

Suki, in her S2000, had the top down and the windows up. Usually she would love to race with the soft top down to show off but for a serious race like this she had to maximize her chances.

Most soft top roadsters like the S2000 are quite capable of high performance. However that performance is almost always hampered if you try to drive it at speed with the top down. Having the top down causes the air to flow into the car's cabin creating a large amount of turbulence. As a result, the engine has to spend a significant amount of power fighting that turbulence. Have the top closed like in Suki's case allows the air to flow over the roof and off the back creating a great deal less of that turbulence. The top speed of a roadster with the top up and down can differ by as much as 40 percent.

But even with this added advantage, it seemed that the GTO was prepared for the circumstance. Suki managed to spot the approaching headlights in her rearview amid the dust that she was kicking up. She knew it was about a quarter mile to go to the west end line. Looks like she might just need to use Alex's plan after all.

"Show time," mumbled Suki to herself.

Meanwhile, Carl and his GTO were shooting down the track at a crazy speed of over 170 mph. Crazy, mainly because he wasn't driving on tarmac and he wasn't even driving on off-road tires. The fact that he could keep a straight line path was a testament to Carl's well-trained street racing skills. "Don't you freakin' underestimate me, ricer girl," he snarled under his breath.

400 yards from the west side line, the GTO finally caught up to the S2000's bumper. Suki got a little nervous at this point but kept her cool. Stick to the plan girl, she thought. This guy won't know what passed him.

Carl was not about to let a wimpy little four-banger import beat his V8. 200 yards from the barrel in the middle of the west end line, Carl took an aggressive inside line. With that sort of line, it would prevent Suki from being able to take lead position while in the turn, something he new import cars were generally better at. He had to make sure she didn't have that advantage.

"You ain't passing me, girl," he said more to himself than to anyone else, trying to reassure his nerves.

The two cars reached the point where they both had to brake hard. the action generated a whole heap of dust that made completely hid both cars from sight. The new GTO made the turn as Carl had planned without the S2000 being able to catch this inside line. The lead was his now. He did some quick shift work and managed to get his car rolling in the right direction again. The new GTO jetted off back towards the east end line, Carl now much more confidence in his win.

Carl was ecstatic about this turn of event and loudly whoop inside his car. "Yeah, who's the man?! Haha!" He looked towards his rearview mirror to check on his opponent. His expression completely changed in that instant.

The S2000 was nowhere to be seen.

"Both cars have now made the turn at the west end line and both are now headed back to...wait," said Jarod. "Hang on a second, something's wrong here. D, do you _see_ the S2000?"

"Hell naw, Jar," said D-rail. "Sistah' just pulled some David Copperfield shit, right there! I don't see a freakin' trace, man!"

"Ladies and gentlemen this is unprecedented. A racer has actually disappeared from the track! And we have no idea where that car is!"

"Hang on man, I think I'm seein' somethin' down there..."

Confused as the two announcers are, no one was more confused that Carl Lynn in his '04 GTO. He frantically switched from looking to all three of his mirrors. He looked at the left side mirror. Nothing. He looked at the right side mirror. Nothing. He looked at his center rear view mirror. Dust and nothing but dust. He even turned his head around a couple of times to look directly out his rear window. No headlights to indicate that the S2000 was behind him. And she sure as hell wasn't in front of him!

"What the hell?" he mumbled to himself as his car drove past the one mile mark. One mile to go till the east end line and to give his older brother his turn. No sign of the S2000 anywhere. "Where did she--How--What the hell?!"

In racing, either professional or otherwise, one of the most nerve racking things that can happen to you is to lose sight of your opponent. Many people who don't know better think racing is just down to who's got the bigger engine. Real drivers know that racing is, like most sports, primarily about strategy. The way you drive often depends on a number of factors such as the car's performance and especially knowing where the other drivers are.

Carl didn't know it but this simple, yet unanswerable, question was slowly affecting his performance. He was too focused on trying to find where his opponent had gone to that he was missing the fact that his foot was lifting off the gas. If he were to look at his tachometer at that moment, he would be alarmed to see that it had drifted down to 6000 rpm. The drop in torque obviously had an effect on his speed as she was slowly drifting down to 120 mph by the time he reached the half-mile mark.

"Goddamit, what the hell is going on here?!" Carl exclaimed, already going into a bit of a panic.

Suki knew then and there that this was the best time as any to make her final move on this fool. "Smack this ass, boy," she said wryly.

Carl was completely caught off-guard by the sudden glare of high intensity xenon bulbs suddenly appearing behind him no less than two feet from his rear bumper. In the flash of a second, The S2000 suddenly veered to the side and came out of the dust cloud trailing the GTO. A quarter of a second later, blue flame exploded from her tail pipe and the S2000 zoomed ahead of the slowed GTO, taking a commanding lead.

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15 minutes ago, before the start of the race.

"Drafting," said Alex. "If all else fails, Suki, you can go with that. With your car's low profile and maneuverability, it shouldn't be a problem for you to sneak in behind your opponent's slipstream and take advantage of that wake behind him."

"Got it," replied Suki.

Drafting. A very effective but very dangerous technique in racing. Alternatively known as slipstreaming, the technique was popular among pro divers since the early days of motorsport. Drafting is prevalent in almost all aspects of motorsport, particularly in the circles of Formula 1 racing and Stock Car racing.

The principle behind the technique was simple. As a car drives forward, it cuts a path through the air in front of it. The displaced air compresses itself around the body of the car and flows over it naturally. And after the air passes over the car tries to go back to its uncompressed state which causes a resulting in a pocket of air immediately behind the car that contains very little air pressure. This area is known as a _wake_.

The effect of the air hitting the car is commonly known as _drag_ in that the air pushing against the car actually limits the speed a car can go. Most modern day cars are designed with aerodynamics in mind after many engineers found out that it's no longer about just putting in a big engine with lots of power. In the same manner, racers found out that you don't need that much power to go fast as long as you reduce the resistance of the air hitting the front of the car. Drafting was developed as a result.

The technique involved getting in behind a leading car and occupy the space of that car's wake. Because a wake has less air pressure, a drafting car barely experiences any drag and thereby gains more speed for using less power. In motorsport, particularly on Stock Car racing circuits like NASCAR, the technique is used tactically by drafting behind an opponent to build momentum without straining their engine (unlike the lead car which is using almost all of its engine's power just to maintain momentum). During the right time, the drafter would pull away from behind his opponent and then use the extra potential of his engine to power on ahead and overtake the lead car.

"Let him do all the work," continued Alex. "You won't really have to worry about the power difference this way."

"But what if her opponent tries to counter her?" asked Jimmy.

"No worries about that, Jimmy," replied Suki. "I'll let the track take care of that little detail."

Jimmy looked confused. "Huh?"

"When we were watching the earlier races, didn't you notice that at speed those cars kick up a whole lot of dust?"

"Yeah, but what can you expect? It's an unpaved runway."

"Don't you think those dust clouds are just big enough to hide something?"

Jimmy was a little confused at first but the message slowly sank in. It was a simple concept but sometimes even the simplest ideas produce the biggest result. They may or may not need such a scheme to win the race but definitely something like this will increase their odds.

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Back in the mean time.

Watching from behind the east end line, Derek couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the S2000 come out from the distance before his younger brother's GTO. Straining his eyes he saw his brother about 4 seconds behind her. Something happened, he thought. This can't be right, something had to have happened somewhere in the middle of the race.

The S2000 crossed the finish line at over 150 mph, trailing dust and blue flame from its exhaust. The moment it did, The Silvia S15 came to life and was soon off its spot on the sidelines and started to make its run. Derek watched in horror as the Silvia began to pull away from the line. He looked towards his opponent and caught a very brief flash of a smirk of confidence through the un-tinted part of the windshield from the driver.

Derek wouldn't believe it. He wouldn't believe that his team was being beaten by a group of _rice burners_.

Around two seconds after the Silvia left the line, Carl's GTO finally came in and finished his run. In a heartbeat, Derek was off, spinning his rear tires madly, getting off the line. It was all up to him now. He was the team's last chance to win this.

He swore he would do whatever it took to win.

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Author's note: There ya'll go. The next chapter in FnF:SU. Next chapter will be the conclusion to Ultimate Street Stage 1 so better look out for that. And after that Stage 2. Hope you guys are liking things so far. Pls. R&R.


	20. Chapter 18

Voc-Tech Airfield, Runway.

Derek was pissed. At his luck, at his teammates' performances, at his opponent's luck and performances, at basically everything that was going against him. When he got off the line, Alex's S15 was already a good 4 seconds ahead of him. End even after reaching the one mile mark half-way down the runway, he saw no sign of the of S15 ahead.

He had clearly underestimated the potential of those machines from the other team. He realized that now, though it was pretty much too late. Never in all his years as a street racer would her dream of being beaten by an import and now that it was happening in front of him had he grown desperate. And that desperation was distracting him from his job of driving.

That wasn't good. A straight up drag race may be simply going in a straight line but that still required a few skillful moves. Aside from the proper timing of the shifts to get the most consistency for power and torque, keeping the steering wheel still and pointing the car in the right direction may be the most critical of all skills when it comes to straight-line speed driving.

The longer you stay accelerating on a straight line and the more you speed increases, the more forward momentum you build. And at some point that momentum is simply too much to fight. Try to fight by steering the car to either side, or maybe even by hitting an obstacle in the way, and all that momentum will simply turn the car sideways and put you into what is almost certainly going to be a bone-breaking crash. This is why in professional motorsport, the worst crashes always happens in the straights and not the corners.

Derek didn't care about any of that right now. All his sights were set ahead. There was still a chance here. Still a chance to pull off the win. He'll take that chance the moment he sees it, and screw whatever anyone will say about him. Here on the streets, anything goes.

"With the last set goin' them _Wyldecardz_ is holdin' onto a big lead," said D-rail. "The Silvia is 'bout a few seconds ahead and it looks like the GTO is goin' fast but can't do much to catch up!"

"Indeed, D" said Jarod, "The GTO is going like stink. One would've expected that the power difference between the two cars might mean that the GTO would've closed the distance by now. But with what I'm seeing it seems that there is almost no power difference here."

"That Nissan must have something pretty special under the hood, Jar, I betcha."

"Well, whatever's under that hood, the GTO can't compete. Still, I'm not gonna call on anything just yet. Never know what could happen."

Up ahead, in the Silvia.

Alex was already going down the last half-mile, his car almost top gear and going at a blistering 180 mph. He didn't bother looking back because he knew even if the GTO had all the power in the world, the gap was just too big at this point. He focused on the turn ahead. Once he was past that turn, then it would be over.

"Gonna have to thank Suki, big time, for this," he mumbled to himself while grinning.

Suki had pulled off her move brilliantly and now things look like smooth sailing from here on out. But while part of him wanted to relax and just wing it, everything that made him a street racer told him to keep his wits about him still. A race isn't over until it's over.

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Back at the starting line.

Rome was keeping an eye on the rest of the opposing team on the other side of the runway. Their frustrations were obvious with the way the two guys there were banging their palms on the hood of their cars and the girl trying to calm them down.

Looks like they were expecting this race to be a cake-walk, thought Rome. Years of experience has taught Rome that overconfidence can be a strength if controlled but even a little too much will lead to bad mistakes and bitter regrets at the end of the day if you're not careful. Rome himself was facing a similar concern.

Both of the last cars were over a mile away. Because they couldn't see them with their own eyes, they had to rely on the live video feed being shown on Jimmy's laptop. It was just as they expected: the Silvia had a commanding lead and while the GTO was indeed fast it was unable to keep up. He wanted to say then and there that Alex was gonna win, however…

"Whaddaya say, guys?" asked Rome. "Call it our win?"

The normally up beat group was silent and had serious contemplating faces as they stood by their respective cars. Kate, usually the most excited of the group, sat atop the roof of her Impreza staring down the direction of the track with a serious look on her face.

"I'm not calling anything until one set of wheels crosses this line," she said.

"Well, he did get a pretty good lead," said Jimmy.

"That doesn't mean the other driver won't try something. Jimmy, from what Alex told me about you, you should know this."

Jimmy quickly thought back to his first experiences in actually street racing and knew Kate was right. "Well…That's true but, what can that guy do in the _middle_ of a race?"

"That depends on how creative he is."

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At the end of the track.

Crowds cheered as Alex's Silvia reached the turnaround first. With his lead, Alex decided to go easy on his tires and brakes by going wide around the turn. He braked hard enough about 50 yards before the line, shifted down to second gear, and took a wide arch around the barrel in the middle of the line, inducing just a bit of oversteer. The crowd cheered even more as Alex seemed to powerslide across the line.

When facing back into the right direction, Alex steadily, but quickly brought the car back up to speed. No need for power shifting just yet, his opponent was still nowhere in sight. However a second after he thought that, he spotted the incoming signature quadruple headlamps of the '64 GTO in the distance rapidly approaching.

He did some quick calculations in his head and Alex surmised that the gap is still more or less 4 seconds. Most would think that he had the race in the bag at this point but he wasn't relaxing just yet.

A distance away, Derek was watching the Silvia come in from the opposite direction.

He had one chance at this. He couldn't waste it. It wasn't against the rules (there were hardly any rules) so he knew in the back of his mind there would be a few people out there who would look down on what he's about to do. But these were the streets. He couldn't care less about what people would think of him. A win is a win and that was the only thing that mattered.

"I won't let you take this form me," he said to himself.

In a completely unpredictable move, the '64 GTO suddenly turned towards Alex's lane and started doing a serpentine maneuver. This caught most of the spectators off-guard, but not more so that Alex who was fast approaching. The serpentine maneuver caused a swirl of dust to completely cover that part of the runway obscuring the GTO from sight.

"The hell is this dude up to?" mumbled Alex to himself, instinctively letting off the gas just a bit.

Too late however as Alex had already reached that big dust cloud. He was blinded completely for a split second but that was all the time Derek needed.

From out of nowhere the GTO popped out of the dust with its tail swinging out like a whip. With the GTO's lights suddenly turned off when it started the serpentine, Alex lost sight of it for a very brief fraction of a second but in racing terms that could equate to a very long time. The GTO swinging rear end clipped the left side rear wheel of the Silvia with enough force to knock the Silvia sideways.

The moment he felt it, Alex went into "regain control" mode as the Silvia started to spin. He pulled on the hand-brake and locked the front wheels to give him as stable a fulcrum as he can get on the dirt track. He allowed the car to spin making sure nothing was getting in the way of the built up momentum

Alex knew from experience that if he tried to countersteer to get the car back in the right direction, as would be the natural reaction of most drivers, there was a good chance that the Silvia will be tipped on its wheels by the inertia and cause the whole car to flip on its side. He did the smart thing and let that inertia dissipate first before trying to control it.

"Ooooh!" And the Nissan takes a bad spin!" said Jarod. "The GTO seemed to have given the Nissan a little love-tap there."

"Looks like them _Thunder Hall_ cats are not giving up just yet," said D-rail. "And now they're throwing away he rule book! Not like we had one in the first place anyway. That was a tight move right there! Dirty, but tight! Now the GTO is crossing the line."

The GTO did as tight as a turn as it could, but for Derek, in his rather tense state and the GTO's not so great handling properties, that wasn't much. The GTO went wide and there was quite a bit of oversteer. Derek managed to straighten himself out quickly and charged down the runway back to the east-end line.

In the distance he was able to spot Alex's Silvia S15 just starting to correct itself from its spin. "Don't hate me for this," he mumbled as if his opponent was right next to him. "In a competition like this, drivers like us can't afford to do things by the book. I'm sure you understand me."

In the meanwhile, Alex has just managed to gain control of his S15. Only problem is when he finally straightened himself out from the spin, he was facing the west-end line again. Alex realized this after taking a second to shake off the bit of dizziness he had. Looking what's ahead of him, Alex spotted the '64 GTO coming at him, just having made the turnaround. The GTO was just getting back up to speed and was coming in fast.

Alex smirked to himself. "Nice move, muscle boy," he said. "But you could've done better than that!"

In the flash of a second, Alex shifted to his reverse gear and floored the gas pedal. After a bit of wheelspin and some dust, the S15 finally started going back in the right direction though facing backwards. The crowd cheered at the spectacle of the S15 speeding backwards.

It's a popular trick in movies where in a high speed chase someone ends up driving backwards for the most part. Hollywood would have you believe that most modern cars can go just as fast going backwards as they can going forwards. The truth is the most speed you can get out of a reverse gear these days is about 25 mph though some high performance cars can go faster thanks to their extra power. The cars used in Hollywood films use specially prepared transmissions with larger-than-normal reverse gears that allow a car to go as fast as 90mph.

Alex didn't have this specially prepared transmission, though he has heard of stories where street racers customize their cars in similar ways, usually just for the sake of entertainment than for actual practical driving techniques.

Alex had to make sure to watch his speedometer. He had to time this just right to maximize his chances of getting back the victory in this race. Once he reached his top reverse speed of around 40 mph, a quick flick of the handbrake and some manipulation of the gas and steering wheel and Alex was able to execute a perfect J-turn that pointed his car in the right direction again.

However by that time, the GTO had finally caught up and as soon as Alex completed his J-turn and was going in the right direction the GTO had overtaken the Silvia and built a small lead of about half-a-second. Using that lead, Derek swerved directly in the path of the S15, blocking it from passing him.

"I won't let you take this victory from me!" exclaimed Derek in the GTO. "C'mon, show me what you got."

Alex shifted up to fourth gear, reaching a speed of just over 150 mph. With just over a mile and a half of runway left, there was still plenty of racing left and Alex still had a few tricks up his sleeve.

"Okay, let's try this then," Alex said to himself as he reached for the switch for the head lights. Just like the S2000 just moments ago, Alex hid himself in the trailing dust cloud of the GTO.

"Looks like the Nissan Silvia is using the same trick as his earlier teammate in the S2000," said Jarod. "After a spectacular recovery from a near-disastrous spin out, looks like the Nissan driver still has plenty to give."

"This is the best race we've had so far, y'all!" said D-rail. "It looks like it just might come down to the line between these two cats!"

"But will this little trick of the Nissan be enough to pull a win out of?"

"Just over a mile of runway left, y'all! Keep your eyes wide, boys and girls. This is one for the books, I'll tell ya' that!"

Derek spotted the move in his rearview mirror. He knew instantly that the Silvia had turned off its lights and was hanging back just some feet from his own rear bumper. It was the same thing that happened to his brother. Derek let out a small grin but his face was still mostly tense.

"I've seen that before already!" he said. "You're gonna have to do better than that, you ricer!"

Derek knew that what got Carl to lose was that he panicked when he lost sight of his opponent. That caused him to inadvertently slow down which resulted in the S2000 getting the drop on him. That won't happen this time around. Derek may not be able to see the Silvia but he knew he was right there, waiting for him to make a mistake like Carl and take advantage of it.

But Derek won't make a mistake. He wasn't going to panic over one lost car. He was going to focus on the finish line and he was going to gun his supercharged V8 engine for all it's worth. He wasn't even going to look back.

"That little trick ain't gonna work on me, boy," he said. "You're gonna have to be a little more creative than—WHOA!"

As if in direct answer to his challenge, Derek suddenly jolted in his seat as he felt something bump his car hard. He almost lost grip of the steering wheel but managed to keep control. He quickly looked into his rear view mirror and could barely see the end of the S15's hood in the dust.

"What the hell?!" he exclaimed.

But as he said that, he felt another jolt and his engine started going rev crazy for some reason. He looked at his speedometer and saw that it was rapidly rising in speed but a look at his tachometer said that his torque was fluctuating madly. It was almost a full time job trying to keep the steering wheel straight as the GTO kept going faster. He became confused as he tried to keep control of his car and wondered what the hell was going on. But after one more look to his behind and seeing the Silvia still on his bumper, it finally dawned on Derek what was happening.

The S15 was giving him a _bump draft_.

"How's this for creative thinking, huh?" said Alex with a wry smirk as he shifted up to fifth gear.

A bump draft is a variation of the drafting in racing. However unlike drafting, bump drafting is used as a cooperative technique between two teammates. As already explained, drafting is when a car takes advantage of the wake behind an opponent's car to gain speed while saving the power of his engine for a last minute breakthrough. In bump drafting, the wake is also utilized by the car behind but rather than save power from the engine, the car behind uses that extra power to push the car in front of him.

The result is that the lead car now has extra power to go faster while continuing to drag the trailing car in its wake. Two cars are faster than one.

Bump drafting is used mostly in stock car racing and, very rarely, in touring car racing. Teammates would bum draft to gain extra speed to pass other racers and gain the lead. The technique has proven effective in the past…if done perfectly. Done wrongly bump drafting will do more harm than good, particularly for teal lead car.

If done with the wrong positioning or if either driver is not ready for it, a bump draft will almost always destabilize the lead car. This usually leads to a really bad crash. The danger is recognized enough that official bodies of racing like NASCAR have rules and penalties in place to limit bump drafting dangers on the track.

Derek now knew this feeling first hand.

Checking his speedometer once again, Derek was genuinely surprised to see his car nearing the 190 mph mark, something he has never achieved on his own. His steering wheel was still fighting him but he was getting the handle on it. He still wasn't sure what Alex was doing with this but one thing was clear to him: Alex was in control of the situation and not him.

"Look at that mother go!" exclaimed D-rail. "He's goin' for the gold, y'all!"

"That is a ridiculously fast as stink car!" concurred Jarod. "I'm suspecting the Nissan has something to do with this. I think the Nissan is bump drafting the GTO! I do! No way, that car can go this fast that quickly!"

"True dat, man. But what the hell is that _Wyldcard_ thinking, dawg. If you're trying to win you gotta make yourself go faster, man, not the other guy!"

"I don't think that's point, D. I quite imagine the driver of the GTO is not having an easy time with that steering wheel of his. At these speeds control is everything. And right now the GTO is losing too much of it!"

D-rail was quite for a second before he realized what his partner was saying was right. "Oh, I get it, dawg. Yeah! I guess this is payback for that little spin near the west end, 'ey? Oh, yeah, we got a battle of wits goin' on here! Now we just gotta see who's sneakier of the two."

"Exactly, and with just half a mile left till the finish line, we'll see if the Nissan's plan will work. This really will be one for the books, D."

While Derek was fighting to maintain control of his car, Alex was calm and cool in his S15. He kept his eye on the car ahead and occasionally peeked at his speedometer which was now barely grazing 200 mph.

"Now what was it that Ricky Bobby always said," Alex said to himself, as he reached down to his shift stick.

Both cars had now just reached the last quarter mile mark. This was the home stretch that would decide the race.

"Oh yeah, that's right," said Alex as he shifted up to sixth gear. "_Shake n' Bake!_"

In a swift action, Alex backed off just enough to give him some space to move and quickly exited the GTO's slipstream. The moment he did, Alex let loose his nitrous which rocketed the car to over 200 mph. In half a second he was past the GTO and in the lead.

Speaking of which.

After Alex left his slipstream and there was nothing left pushing him on, Derek suddenly felt his GTO lose a significant amount of power and torque in a split second. The car jolted madly as the revs dropped and a crazed Derek tried to recover by power shifting down. He also had trouble keeping the steering wheel straight as his suspension was not set for 200 mph runs.

In the end, Derek couldn't hold his line. It was either stop or crash. With the victory already lost beyond hope he decided that losing his car would be too much. Slowly but surely he managed to bring his car to a steady halt through some careful application of the brakes ('64 GTOs didn't have ABS yet) and careful management of the steering wheel.

He came to a stop around 300 yards from the finish line, kicking up a cloud of dust. Derek looked out his windshield and while the dust was thick it didn't prevent him from seeing the shrinking tail lights and flaming exhaust of the S15 as it thundered down the runway towards well-earned victory.

"Dammit…" mumbled Derek as he slapped his hand on the steering wheel in frustration.

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Back at the east end line.

"He did it!' exclaimed Jimmy excitedly as he watched what happened on the live video feed from his laptop.

Subsequent cheers erupted from the rest of the group and even the crowds behind them who were watching the race from their cell phones. The cheering intensified as the sound of the VQ engine came thundering down the last quarter mile and the flash of high powered xenon lights came on.

Alex crossed the line at 200 mph, thanks mainly to his little bump draft move and his nitrous oxide. The second he crossed the line, he hit his brakes which almost glowed red hot from the intense friction. When he was slow enough, Alex decided to do a few celebratory doughnuts on the track just as people started to gather around him.

His teammates were the first people there, and Alex greeted them as he exited the Silvia. Suki was the first to reach him, pouncing on him, giving him a tight hug followed by a sweet peck on his lips. Alex knew that with that, his victory was complete that night.

"You did it man!" exclaimed an ecstatic Rome standing next to him. "Never doubted you for a sec!"

Alex gave him a wry smirk. "You sure? Not even for a few?"

Rome jokingly shrugged his shoulders. "Well, there was a couple of seconds doubt, mostly during the _start_ of your run, dawg."

Alex laughed. Rome followed suit and so did everybody else. Alex gave his teammate a few friendly pats on the shoulder then looked around the cheering audience around him. He allowed himself to bask in the glory for a while but he knew it wouldn't last. The next stage is going to start in a few days and they had little time to relax. There was still a long battle ahead.

And he couldn't wait to face it head-on.

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Meanwhile, in the hanger.

Those seated around the tables, watching the big TV screens were applauding and whooping as they saw the small victory party happening down at the runway's end. The younger crowd in the other half of the hanger was also cheering, knowing that more exciting races were to come.

"Now that is what I call a race," said Jarod's voice over the speakers. "Boy that had everything in it, didn't it? Those drivers really pulled out everything they got out there. This is the kind of stuff I live for! Brilliant performances from both teams! _Thunder Hall _gave it their all but in the end it looks like the _Wyldcardz_ just had a little bit more than that."

"Damn, right my brotha'!" replied D-rail's voice. "So, it's clear now ya'll. The _Wyldcardz_ are moving on to stage two. Man, this is turning out to be a great year!"

"And with plenty of racing still left to go we can promise you way more excitement to come. Stay tuned ladies and gentlemen. We'll be back in a bit."

On the long table in the far back, the only two people that weren't applauding were Sinclair and Virgil, however the two had very different expressions on their faces.

Sinclair kept a mostly neutral face hiding the fact that he was a bit unnerved. Virgil on the other hand didn't even bother trying to hide his satisfaction judging by that big smile on his face. He took a final sip of his wine and stood up from his chair, catching Sinclair's attention.

"Well, I think I've had all the excitement I can bear tonight," said Virgil. "I think I'm gonna retire to my hotel room now."

As he was walking away from the table Sinclair didn't offer any rebuttal but that look he gave was all that Virgil needed to know the guy's true feelings. Things were progressing nicely so far but he knew he also couldn't relax. The next few days will be very exciting indeed he can already see that, both on and off the tracks. The plan has been established and executed and now he has to see things through and that was going to take some work.

Alex has done his part. Now Virgil must do his.

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Meanwhile, on another spot on the airfield.

Linda Williams whistled softly to show that she was impressed as she looked at her own laptop computer that was showing the live feed from the track. Gathered around her were the rest of _Project 75_: Manny San Diego, Marcus Strauss and Brian O'Conner.

"These guys are good," she commented.

"Really, good," said Marcus. "Not that I'm intimidated or anything but I do hope we don't have to face these too soon."

"It's good to be intimidated sometimes," said Manny. "It shows that you know your capabilities. A good racer needs to know his weaknesses so that he can improve on them after all."

"Yeah, but like I said, I'm _not_ intimidated."

Manny gave him a one-sided smile in response then turned to his last teammate. "What do you think about them, O'Conner?"

Brian didn't answer. He ignored him completely. When Manny called for him again and he still didn't respond, Marcus and Linda turned to him as well with a bit on concern. Brian's eyes were glued to the screen and on his face was a very serious look. He was focused particularly on the girl hugging the Silvia driver on the screen. A girl he recognized, along with the unmistakable pink S2000 she drove earlier.

"Suki," he mumbled. "What are you doing here?"

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Author's note: And this marks FnF:SU's 20th chapter (including the prologue and interlude). Too much racing going on, I think I'm gonna slow down a bit on the next chapter to focus on advancing the plot a bit further. I'll pick up the pace later on when the gang enters stage two. To all the readers of this story, thanks for sticking by this long. As usual pls. R&R.


	21. Chapter 19

Morning, the next day.

In Las Vegas, when one says it's a fairly warm day, what they really meant was so boiling hot that you could probably cook your breakfast on the side walk. That's the think about building a city in the middle of a desert. Alex got a little too used to the atmosphere in Miami, where the term 'hot' could mean a number of different things, with some meanings used more often than the others. He thought it was funny that he used to live in this state and he actually lost familiarity with it. He didn't know whether that was natural or something else that made him wanna forget.

Alex drove down along the famous Las Vegas Strip in his Silvia S15. There were barely any cars on the road that morning. Despite the heat, Alex managed just fine with the AC still turned off and the windows rolled down. It was still a relatively cool morning and he wouldn't really need the AC until around the lunch hours. He tried to distract himself from the heat by playing some of his favorite tunes on the CD player.

When he came to a stop light he stopped at the white line right next to a dark, navy blue Ferrari F355 Spyder. Alex looked to his side to admire the car. Despite being a tuner by trade, Alex also had a soft spot for exotic performance cars. He looked up to see who the two people in the car were. The driver was the typical rich dude with the 90 dollar silk shirt and Ray Bans and the passenger was a girl ripped right out of the Victoria's Secret catalogue, thought Alex.

The driver of the Ferrari, took a bit to notice that Alex was stopped next to him. When he did, he seemed to freeze completely from the sight of the car. His girlfriend (Alex assumed she was his girlfriend) seemed to have a similar reaction. When Alex noticed that they were staring at his car, he started to feel a little awkward so he decided to break the ice a bit.

"Hey, dude. What's the retail on one of those?" said Alex.

To his surprise, the driver of the screamed "Not again!" while he shifted his car in reverse then floored the gas. The car blazed a trail going backwards and kept going. The Ferrari almost hit another car while going backwards but it eventually disappeared in the distance, its transmission, screaming in pain and protest.

Alex was left there at the stop light with a raised eyebrow and a need to scratch his head. "The hell was that all about?" he asked himself. He decided to just shrug it off and forget about it and resume his drive as the light turned green. He still had a meeting to go to.

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Meanwhile, somewhere.

For Suki, you've seen one casino, you've seen them all. No matter how big or small a casino is compared to the next one. Every single one of them is a money vacuum cleaner designed to empty the pockets of the overly hopeful and downright delusional (which is quite abundant in the country, she hated to admit. Little wonder Vegas is still in business after all these years)

So it was a wonder for Suki why she actually liked strolling lazily down the halls of the MGM Grand like an ordinary tourist and every now and then tossing a couple of quarters in the slot machines. Well, she had plenty of time and spare change to spare anyway so no harm there. The rest of the gang was still up in their rooms. Not exactly a bunch of morning people she should say. And with Alex gone on a meeting with their...benefactor, she was pretty much alone this morning. She wondered around the casino floor, just trying to find something interesting to look at.

What caught her eye though was the grand prize at the promo set of slot machines. Get the jackpot and you win a brand new 2009 Cadillac CTS-V.

Essentially, the CTS-V was Detroit's answer to Germany's BMW M5 and Mercedes S-class AMG: high performance technology in a practical and comfortable four-door saloon package. Suki admired the cars elegant yet masculine body shape with its flared wheel arches, wheel vents and back-end spoiler. Finally, something worth betting on, she thought.

Though her taste wasn't really in muscle, she could appreciate the appeal of such cars. She could appreciate the amount of musicality a big muscle V8 brings (hey, even women need testosterone every now and then. Ask a doctor!).

A tuner's appeal lies in its driver's pursuit of the perfect setting. Every part of a tuner car has to be adjustable for the driver to get his ideal setting right down to the smallest degree. Many tuner's spend days on end at an empty strip of road, doing turns, quarter-mile runs, circuits, and anything else to continuously test the car only to find something not quite right and then adjust it.

A muscle car however has the same basic appeal as holding a giant sledge hammer to a piece of concrete. You can spend the whole day just bashing away at the piece of concrete till your arms go numb and you'd still end up feeling like a million dollars at the end of the day.

She stood there in front of the display and thought long about whether she should risk the prospect of losing around twenty dollars worth of quarters to try and win this thing. She tried to think of a few things she could do as an alternative which were in her interest. Unfortunately, the only things that come to mind were Penn & Teller, Carrot top, and the Circ de Soleil. She really needed to come here more often, Suki thought.

Eventually, Suki just shrugged and decided to just go for it. She looked for an empty seat and found one near the end of the corner of the display. She made her way to it and was about to sit down when a familiar voice greeted her from behind. The voice, though familiar, was something she never expected of hearing again.

"Never really pegged you to be the type who's into muscle, Suki," said Brian O'Conner.

Suki whipped her head around so fast it almost snapped. He face was awash with a myriad of expressions; surprise, curiosity, dumbfound among them, maybe even a little joy at seeing an old friend.

Brian on the other hand looked like he wanted answers.

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Meanwhile, somewhere else in the city.

A tourist spot was not the ideal meeting spot for Alex. Although he could see why Virgil picked it.

In the city, he would usually pick some random floor on a random parking lot but in Vegas, where car theft was quite prominent, parking lots have tight security that makes meeting there impractical. Also, Alex suspected Virgil was still trying to keep that "we're all friends here so let's work together" attitude between them so he picked a spot where Alex might feel relaxed.

And a scenic hill-top outlook overlooking Lake Mead, the largest freshwater reservoir in the United States, would certainly be relaxing to anyone.

Personally he would've preferred a nice, well-tooled garage with a car in it worth fixing but that was beside the point. He drove up the short steep road to the top of the overlook. He immediately spotted Virgil there standing next to his M5. Two of his lackeys were there as well, standing next to the Tacoma.

Alex ignored them. Virgil had them on a short leash. He parked a few meters away from the M5. Normally, he would let the car run idle for a minute before turning it off but fortunately he installed a new HKS turbo-timer to do that for him as to avoid wrecking his precious engine. He stepped out of his car and calmly walked towards the other group. He noticed the lackeys twitch a bit with their hands under their jackets (don't they get hot in those? Thought Alex) undoubtedly grabbing their firearms.

Alex continued to ignore them completely. He knew that would annoy them.

"I'm guessing the reason you called me here is 'cause Sinclair knows," asked Alex.

"Were you expecting anything less from that man?"

"Nope. I guess I wasn't."

"At least I know you can still keep your wits about you."

"Ignoring that. But it's not like he can do something about it. We are competing in _Ultimate Street_ legitimately. If he tries anything funny it would look bad for him. And besides, he's not in-charge of the completion. King is."

"That doesn't mean he doesn't have ways to get in our way. He has his own team in the completion as well."

Alex looked curious now. "Really?"

"Yes. And that's why I called you here. We found information on them. More than what you'd get on the network they set up.

"Cool. Let's see it then."

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MGM Grand.

It's funny how life just throws random crap at you, thought Suki at that moment. She and Brian were sitting together at a table next to one of the MGM Grand's five outdoor pools. They each had a drink in front of them, tropical fruit juice fresh off the mixer. Brian continued to give that intense questioning impression which made Suki a little nervous but she did well to hide it.

"Never thought I'd be seeing you again," said Suki. "Least here of all places."

"I could say the same to you," he replied with a friendly tone that felt a little forced. "So, are you here on business? Or just on vacation, Suki?"

Suki could already tell by the tone of the voice that wasn't so much as a casual question but more of an interrogation. Brian wanted to know something badly but he was still trying hard not to sound rude. Whether that's because he and Suki are old friends or him trying to remain inconspicuous was still unknown to her. She decided to go along with it first.

"Oh, a little bit a both," she said, sipping on her fruit juice.

"What do you mean?"

"It's the perfect time of the year to go to, Vegas. Also, I heard there are some pretty good drivers here."

"Hard to believe you came all the way out here just to race."

"I could say the same thing about you."

Brian continued his deadpan expression but Suki wasn't buying it. She knew he was up to something.

"Brian, you leave Miami to go back to being a cop. That's cool with me and all. Then after a year, you suddenly jump to the upper bracket of the FBI's most wanted list along with that infamous smuggler from LA. Last we heard of you, you were hiding out in Japan or something."

Brian gave the slightest of smirks. "Well, I heard they did some crazy shit in Tokyo."

"Damn straight," replied Suki. "And it's also the best place to get lost in when you don't wanna be found."

"Exactly."

"Then why are you here?"

Brian went deadpan again. He was putting on a shield to try and defend the things he wasn't willing to say. Suki saw right through it.

"You're here for _Ultimate Street_ aren't you? That much is obvious. But there's a reason behind you participating in it. There has to be. It can't be just about the money."

"…You're right. I have…shall we say…unfinished business here. Business that I need to take care before I go back to Japan.

"I see." Suki knew that that was the most information she will get out of him at the moment. He was still reluctant to talk but at least he seemed to respect their old friendship. He only wanted to keep her out of the loop because he wanted to protect her or something like that, she thought.

"You're also here for _Ultimate Street _too, aren't you?" asked Brian.

Suki flushed a bit. "…Yeah. We are."

"Is it also because of unfinished business."

"Well…it was supposed to be _finished_ business. But I guess some people can really hold a grudge."

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Back at Lake Mead.

"So these are the guys he sent after us?" said Alex looking into Virgil's laptop screen.

"They are a professional racing team," said Virgil. "Each one of these guys have spent over a thousand hours on the track. Their cars are tuned to GT3 specs."

"They don't seem that impressive."

"That's what everyone thinks of you but you never fail to surprise."

"That's not much to worry about. We've both raced pro drivers in the past and we both beat them hands down. Why are you getting worked up now?"

"Because these are the guys Sinclair picked by hand. They've got plenty of confidence to spare. And besides. We never said anything about having only to worry about things on the track"

Alex became extra alert now. The implications of that simple phrase stabbed him like a knife.

"You think he'll send someone after us, off the track?"

Virgil gave him a condescending grin. "You know, my friend, you are quite skilled, I'll admit. But I'll also admit that you have one glaring weakness I've observed this whole time I've known you."

Virgil took a few steps towards him so that they'd end up less than three feet from each other. Alex didn't move and stared back at his old rival with slight apprehension.

"You are ridiculously optimistic."

Virgil started walking away from him now. Alex just stood there with a stern expression but couldn't say anything back at Virgil. Mostly because he was right.

"What Sinclair did to me was bad," continued Virgil. "What he did to you was much worse. I lost a lot of money and what reputation I had. You lost someone that was practically family."

Again. Alex tensed up. His hands involuntarily curled their fingers to form tight fists.

Virgil turned back to him and noticed all this. He was getting to him, just like he wanted. "When you left Nevada, you did so knowing that you couldn't take on Sinclair on your own. You needed help. That's the only reason you agreed to working with. And that's the same for me. We were both cheated by that man's greed."

"What's your point?" Alex asked firmly, obviously wanting Virgil to shut up.

Virgil didn't grin this time. "My point is that as long as you and I are working towards the same goal You can rest assured that I will not double-cross you. I want that man to go down as much as you do. You just worry about our enemies on the track and I'll take care of any that show up off it."

"Forgive me If I don't feel too secure by that statement."

Now Virgil grinned. Alex was trying to look cool but failing at it. Virgil didn't fault him on that though. "After what he did to…what did you call him again? Oh, that's right. 'Ol Joe…"

Alex twitched an eyebrow.

Virgil continued. "After what happened to him. After what Sinclair did to him, I don't think we can put it past him to do something dirty, especially with stakes as high as we see in _Ultimate Street_ so I highly recommend that you, Alex, try to be more cautious."

Alex decided to really just shut up now and not let Virgil get the full satisfaction of knowing that Virgil was right. Virgil fished into his pocket and produced a thick wad of cash. Alex took one look at it and estimated it to be about five grand. Virgil handed it to him. There was a bit of an apprehensive silence before Alex took the money.

"What's this?"

"Like I said, we're in a mutually beneficial business partnership," said Virgil. "I put down two grand on your team last night with the odds at five to one. Here's your half of the winnings. That should be enough to tune your rides for the next stage."

"Uh, thanks, I guess."

Virgil then took out a packet of cigarettes and took one for himself and lit it with a Zippo. He politely offered a stick to Alex who declined. Then he turned towards the road leading down off the hill. Down the road was route 93 and a short distance away another back road.

"You know what's down there, right?" asked Virgil.

"Black Canyon."

"And you're familiar with the road behind it right? The one that leads to the river at the base of Hoover Dam."

"Yeah." Alex knew what he was getting at. The road was very familiar to him. He had had his most grueling races on that road. The back road was a fairly narrow two lane stretch of asphalt that snaked along the undulating grounds of the canyon. The road was mainly used by tourists who were headed down to the river for a little rafting.

The road didn't seem that special at first glance but there was a good reason why it served as the final stage of _Ultimate Street_ for three years running. The road lacked sharp corners and invited the driver to take the road at high speeds. But with its narrow profile, undulating slopes and lack of barriers on either side leading to steep dips and high inclines of rock -- not to mention your opponent -- the difficulties pile up to show just how much of a challenge the road is both in terms of performance and pure driver's psychology.

Alex has never actually raced on that road before. He did a few time trials back when he was still building his Silvia but he never drove on that road against an actual opponent.

"I suggest you try and get some practice now," said Virgil as he started walking back to his car. "You'll need all the practice you can get by the time you get to the final stage of the tournament."

Alex looked at him with a one-sided smile "By the time? Now who's the one being too optimistic."

Virgil turned back to him and replied in kind. "A bad habit that seems to be rubbing off on me."

Deciding for himself that the meeting was over, Virgil got into his M5, started the engine which roared loud and proud, and drove off. His goons in the Tacoma followed suit giving Alex some nasty farewell glares. In a few seconds Alex could hear their engines fading away in the distance and looked back out to Lake Mead.

He allowed himself a few moments to think about his and Virgil's conversation suggestion about practicing on the road less than a five minute drive from where he is at the moment. No sooner had he thought of the task did he immediately decided against it. He quickly got back into his car and headed back to the center of the city as fast as legally allowed.

He had a girlfriend to keep company.

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Back at the poolside.

"I saw you and Rome rolling with a new crew back at Stage 1" said Brian.

"You mean Kate and Alex?" replied Suki. "Yeah, they're pretty much in charge of our team here."

"So they're the ones who you're here racing for? They're the only reason you and Rome are here?"

"Don't be so dense, O'Conner. You think I'd do something like this just by being asked. After finding out what _Ultimate Street_ is they wouldn't have needed to ask me."

Brian gave a slightly proud looking smirk. "You always were the ambitious type. Rome I can also understand. That idiot will do anything just to prove he can. Who else is here?"

"Tej is here, as usual. He's acting manager. You should know that we're not just an official crew here. We're official back in Miami as well."

Brian nodded. "Yeah, I get it. That means these two new guys. They must be good."

Suki grinned. "You have no idea."

"Better than me?"

Suki had to hesitate in answering that one. Better than Brian? Now there was a tough one to answer. After all, there is a reason why they gave him the nickname _Bullit_ back when he was in Miami. Suki admitted to herself that both Alex and Kate have shown exceptional racing skill but comparing that to Brian's own level of skill is almost baffling to her.

Firstly, they had different styles. All the time she knew Brian, Suki has observed that he uses a strategic approach to racing, planning out his moves one or two steps ahead of his opponent. He likes to know fact early on about a race and strategizes accordingly, utilizing every single moment of opportunity and weakness of his opponents. That's how he liked to win: quick, clean, and looking cool.

Alex and Kate were different. They drive more on instinct and gut feeling, adapting to situations as quickly as they can and moving accordingly. While she has seen Alex plan ahead for some races, in general he never follows any type of plan and simply goes with the flow, taking a route which he _feels_ right about. Both Alex and Kate rely mainly on their own skills and the extensive modifications of their cars' performance.

So comparing them would hardly be fair. But that still raised the interesting question.

"You mean, who would win in a race between you and them?' Suki asked.

Brian nodded with a smirk.

Suki smirked back, amazed that Brian still kept that cocky attitude this whole time. That's one thing they both had in common, she thought. "Honestly, I don't know."

"Suki, I gotta ask. Who are these guys and where do they come from. What are they to you anyway?"

"For starters, I'm the guy she's dating," said Alex.

Both Suki and Brian almost jumped at the sound of Alex's voice. They both looked up and found Alex standing there with a dead pan expression switching his glances between them every few seconds as if carefully analyzing their body language.

"Friend of yours?" asked Alex towards Suki in monotone.

"Uh, yeah, he is, actually," Suki answer honestly.

She was a bit surprised when Alex gave no reaction and simply kept looking at her with a deadpan expression.. Suki was about to ask about it when she realized the situation Alex caught them in: two of them, at a private table, by the pool, sharing drinks, and talking like they've know each other for a long time. Suki's eyes went wide as she realized what Alex might be thinking of that was going on.

"He's just a friend!" she blurted out almost automatically. "An old friend who I haven't seen in a while. He had to leave the country. I know him 'cause he used to live in Miami."

Alex gave her a questioning look. Suki tried to look as innocent and as apologizing as possible. Alex then turned to Brian to glare at him.

But then Alex's face became more scrutinizing. A flash of recognition and Alex realized he has seen this guy before. Back in Arizona. The expression on Brian's face indicated he was coming to the same realization. Both of them unconsciously raised a pointed finger at each other.

"I know you…" both men said at the same time.

Now it was Suki's turn to be confused.

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Meanwhile, at Voc-Tech Airfield.

A plain looking, bright red, Lancer Evo VI was thundering down the airfield kicking up dust and debris. No one was around to watch the car as it zoomed down the runway at over 150 mph. Officially, all the races at Voc-Tech were over. The driver didn't care. He wasn't here to be watched.

The driver was only interested at the performance aspect of his car. He was tweaking with the onboard computer again. Trying to get the settings he wanted. A little more torque at the lower end and he would be set for the next stage. His team was on the other end of the runway. Doing their own tuning jobs and they'll come down the stretch soon enough after him.

He was also testing the feel of his car's modifications. He installed a new custom exhaust pipe and muffler just before they left Colorado for Vegas. It was performing well and was harmonizing quite nicely with his GARRET GT3540 Turbo Kit. Along with the other tune-ups that he's done to the car like boring out the cylinders, new K&N air filters, and EIBACH suspension kit, the Evo VI produced a hefty 470 bhp and knew how to handle it.

He finished the 2 mile run in a better time than he did in the actual first stage of the race. He ought to be happy about that but he wished he did what he did when it mattered. When he could've dominated his opponent all the more. Maybe in the next stage, he thought.

He parked the Lan Evo VI at the edge of the runway and simply waited there for the rest of his team to arrive. He would've turned on the radio if he had one so he busied himself checking out the stats as they showed on his laptop that was connected to the car's own onboard computer.

That's when his phone rang. He fished it out of his pocket, took one glance at the caller id, scoffed, then answered the call. "Hello?"

"Langford. It's Sinclair. A few things you guys need to know about the…competition."

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Author's note: Been a while. Sorry about that. Had a lot of problems with my computer and that slowed down the writing process. Don't have much to say about this chapter. Just wanted to thicken the plot a bit. PLs. R&R as usual. Later.


	22. Chapter 20

Midnight. Somewhere northeast in the city.

It was called Warehouse 14. From something old to something new, Stage 2 of _Ultimate Street_ was taking place in a large newly-built warehouse somewhere near the heart of the city, a structure big enough to hold a whole jumbo jet with room to spare. Its owner, a freight company based in Nevada, invested over ten million dollars in its construction and will go into operations in about a month. Inside the warehouse was _supposed_ to be completely empty.

However, for now, the owner was gonna get back some of that investment by renting it out a little earlier than scheduled. The surrounding parking lot that was meant to accommodate up to two hundred trailer trucks was filled instead with the equally colorful array of tuner cars of all kinds. Along with the tuner cars was the ever present party atmosphere with loud music and even louder engines.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to Stage 2 of _Ultimate Street_," said Jarod's voice as he went about his duties as announcer and commentator of the event.

Again, his voice was transmitted over the live webcast of the event accessible to all participant teams and pay-per-view subscribers, and a couple of signal pirates here and there. The live video featured a ground view of all the tuner cars gathered at the lots and Jarod and D-rail went on with the pre-race brief.

"We are back," continued Jarod, "and we're bringing much more excitement with us tonight in a whole new game! Care to, as you say, break it down for us, D?"

"Damn straight, Jar!" replied DJ D-rail in his usual enthusiastic manner. "Like the man said: whole new game. Last stage we needed a heavy foot and a big motor. This time, driver's are gonna need a pretty tough steering wheel. The name of today's game is handling, ma' homies. We're bringin' it to you street x style, tonight! Let's go to our boy on the ground, Dex, for a close up view, y'all."

The live video feed now switched to a shot from the ground as a guy, presumably Dex, wearing a helmet with a camera stuck on top of it was getting into a go cart. It was plane to see that the cart was just behind a painted line on the ground and that he was right beside the warehouse's outer wall. Dex started the engine and revved it a bit like it was some kind of muscle car in obvious humor. The crowd seemed to like it. He gave a thumbs up to the camera shooting him. A second later, the video changed to a view of the camera on Dex's head.

"Right, now here is how the course will go," started Jarod. "Racers will start midway of the southern wall outside the warehouse itself. At the flag they first head down east."

As if on cue, Dex on his go cart started moving eastward and zoomed speedily enough down the clear asphalt ahead. Soon enough he reach the southeastern corner of the building and turned in. The camera shot focused on the obviously ajar doors of the warehouse, open just enough to let tow cars enter side by side.

"After driving around the souteastern corner, racers will enter the warehouse through the doors and that's where the fun begins."

Dex drove in and revealed the inside of thw vast warehouse had been, predictably, converted into a street X course. The whole course composed of a tight track that was walled off using lines of shipping containers. These large steel boxes were lined up end to end of each other with a large orange plastic road barrier in between a few of them. Onlookers to the video thought that there must be at least ten dozen of these containers comprising the whole course.

Jarod's voice continued as Dex drove on. "Right after the entering the warehouse, the cars will take left turn for a short 60 yard dash to a right turn to the first straightaway, the longest one in the course."

Dex turned and the camera showed a long straight bordered by trucks on the right and the warehouse wall to the left. While charging down the straight, Dex tilted the camera upwards to show that the upper walkways of the warehouse built onto the side of the walls was occupied with audience members cheering over the railings. Somewhere nearer to the ceiling, Dex's camera shot the giant overhead crane, built right onto the ceiling that was used to move all of these containers. Dex's camera turned back down to floor level and the eastern wall of the warehouse was coming in fast.

"After the straight we follow a right hairpin corner goin' right into the chicane," said Jarod.

After the hairpin, Dex and his go cart traveled about twenty yards into a wide area where the floor's would-be straight path was interrupted with four shipping containers line perpendicular to the walls creating a zig-zag path. Coming out of the hairpin Dex's cart went left to avoid the container, then right to avoid the next one, the left, then right again. Finally, Dex went out of the chicane through the hairpin which lead to a short straight all the way to the other wall of the warehouse.

"After the chicane, It's the second long straight just before the exit," said Jarod. "However, this isn't just any old straight. Up ahead we got a surprise for our racers. It's called the _bottleneck_ ladies and gentlemen."

Dex's helmet-mounted camera made it all clear to everyone watching. Close to the end of the long straight, as long as the first one, there was a bunch of containers arranged to block the path with only a small opening in the middle. This opening, even from a distance, was obviously only big enough to fit just one car at a time.

It was clear to everyone this was the obstacle to beat. Whoever makes it through the gap first, finishes first.

After Dex exited the gap, he had reached the western wall of the warehouse. After the bottleneck it was a simple right then left out the door, mirroring the route when the car first enters the warehouse from the eastern wall. Once he exited, the view of the camera picked up dozens of onlookers marking the edge of the course and cheering him on.

Upon exiting, the cart turned south then turned east along the southern outer wall all the way to the start/finish line completing one lap. With a bit of showmanship Dex put his go cart into a powerslide and generated quite a bit of smoke as he crossed the line, much to the entertainment of the onlookers and viewers.

"And that about does it for one lap," said Jarod. "And just like last stage, each team member will take turns going through the course. First team to finish wins."

* * *

Somewhere on the parking lot.

"A street X race, huh?" said Alex to himself. "I knew it."

Street X (pronounced as "street cross") was a bit of a fad for inner city street racers who can rarely find a long enough stretch of tarmac that can serve the purpose of an old-fashioned drag race. Street X was characterized by a short, tight track that tested a car's steering and suspension to absolute limits, as well as a driver's willingness to take risks. In races this tight, drivers are forced to come dangerously close to each other and keeping close and tight was the name of the game.

And so, Alex prepared his car for just that.

He was seated inside his S15 with a barrowed laptop from the Escalade. The laptop was hooked into the engine management system and Alex was doing some checks on the last minute tuning they did a while ago.

Alex had tuned his car accordingly, like hardening the suspension and using lower tire pressure for more grip on the cold cement floor. For the engine, he focused more of the power into the lower revs and increasing the torque for better acceleration. The engine now ran at around 400 bhp, mainly because he tuned down his turbos, to the point of almost fully disabling them. Why? Because he knew that at a race like this, _turbo lag_ is a major hindrance and he could do very well without it.

Turbo lag is the bane of most turbocharged engines. Turbochargers work by using the exhaust from the engine to drive a fan that compresses the air that is forced into the engine resulting in a richer, more concentrated fuel-air mixture resulting in a bigger boom inside the cylinders giving more power to the engine. This extra power is commonly known as _turbo boost. _However, turbochargers don't work instantly and need a short amount of time to spin up fast enough to start compressing the air intake.

In this short amount of time, a turbocharger is essentially dead weight serving no purpose for the car. Only after the turbo has spooled up can it start producing boost and give the engine more power, usually indicated when the driver feels a sudden "kick" from. It is this period of time which is known in the automotive world as turbo lag. Depending on the size of the turbo, the lag can be longer or shorter. Generally, the larger the turbo the longer the lag.

"Are you sure about turning the turbos almost off like this," asked Mel, the S15's assigned mechanic as she was messing with something under the hood.

"Yeah. In a race this tight, large turbos like mine would be less effective. I'm gonna go with the raw torque the motor makes." Alex knew that his VQ35HR was renowned for its low-end response and power.

"I thought turbo-lag wouldn't have been an issue when you said that this was twin-turbo. I guess I was presuming a sequential configuration."

"Well, I wanted something flexible so I opted for this kind of configuration."

Alex knew what she was talking about. Most people think that "twin turbo" is basically slapping two equal sized turbos in an engine with the logic that two is better than one. And usually that was the case. Alex used this configuration in the S15's swapped VQ engine. This regular configuration, known as _parallel twin-turbo_, allowed for lots of power in the high revs but keeps the usual problem of turbo lag no different from a single turbo design.

The other configuration of twin turbo is the _sequential twin-turbo_ configuration. Instead of having two equal sized turbochargers, the engine will have one small turbo for boosting the lower revs and a large turbo that kicks in at the higher revs. This design reduces turbo lag significantly since the smaller turbo spools up quickly giving almost instant boost while "pre-spooling" the larger one. The problem was this design was more mechanically complicated and rather expensive.

"Besides," continued Alex, "I've checked up on our competition for this stage. In terms of power, 400 bhp will be enough. But it looks like our next match-up is with guys that are pretty suited to the course. I think the S15 is in its best condition considering the course."

"What about the others?"

"Well. I have to admit I'm worried about Rome and his 'Cuda."

Mel grimaced. "In this track, who wouldn't be?"

"Though I have much fewer worries with Suki and Kate. The Subaru is a rally car. It can definitely take corners. And The S2000 is pretty nippy in corners."

"So I guess, we're okay for now."

"Sure." Not really. Alex knew better than that. He has seen the next team they're up against. A team composed of straight-up import tuners. Two FWD cars even. This is the kind of race FWD cars are best at when properly tuned. He sort of wished they could use Jimmy's Golf R32 for this race. Unfortunately, no substitutes allowed. They'll have to make do with what they've got.

Just then, Alex spotted Suki waking up to them, her pace unusually slow and careful as if she felt guilty about something. Alex tried to hold back a grin, knowing what that supposed guilt was about. When Suki came close enough, Mel noticed her as well. They exchanged looks that only women can understand and Mel was soon on her way to some random direction away from the couple, giving Alex a wink and a smirk.

"Uh, hi, Alex," opened Suki in a nerve-tinged tone.

"Hello to you to," he said nonchalantly. He was enjoying watching her fidgit like this.

"Listen...about this morning...um..."

"I already asked Rome," he said, stopping her. "So don't worry about it, babe. I'm not bitter."

Suki looked almost surprised but she knew that was probably what happened.

After their sudden and rather awkward meeting by the pool that morning, there was an amazing coincidence where all of them suddenly received a text message on their cellphones saying that they were being called away by their own teams. After another awkward exchange of farewells, each of them knowing that they'll probably see each other again in the near foreseeable future, the parted. Suki thanked whatever supreme being ended that meeting so promptly

The meeting was called by Tej and he wanted to discuss the next opponent: a team called _Mad Stylze_ who he had just discovered to be a group of tuners. The meeting was short with Tej basically telling what the guys might expect from an all-tuner group. After the meeting there was another coincidence, only this time it was against Suki's liking. Rome had decided he wanted Alex's company for the next few hours. Rome was not used to Street X style racing and was asking for some coaching.

And so Suki spent the better part of the day worrying on how to tell her new boyfriend that she and Brian never had a relationship like that. And she spent all that time trying to push those concerns to the back of her head as she spent the day with Kate. However she didn't know that while Alex was coaching Rome on some braking techniques, he had asked Rome if he knew someone named Brian who used to race in Miami.

Well, after that Alex couldn't get Rome to shut up about the guy. He told him stories. Lots of stories. About a white boy from Barstow growing up with him, taking an interest to cars, getting arrested for driving underage, winning his first drag race by an inch, getting a badge, loosing that said badge, repeating those last two items again only in a more disastrous way...

By the end of it all, Alex was extremely fascinated now. Rome actually remembered why he started babbling about a certain someone and asked Alex why he wanted to know about him. Alex simply replied "I met the guy in Arizona a couple days back. And me and Suki met him again this morning. He's competing with his own team in _Ultimate Street_. Crazy huh?"

Rome promised he'd be back for the start of the race and disappeared for the remainder of the day.

Alex told Suki all of this at that moment and the girl looked incredulous. "You met him in Arizona?"

"When we had our little stop over there I met him while coming out of a local auto shop. We talked for about five minutes about cars...you know I should really get a new hobby."

"But that's all? You don't know each other from before? I thought you guys had some kind of connection."

"No, I never met him before Arizona...but as for the connection..."

He seemed to trail off. Alex suddenly looked very thoughtful about something and Suki saw it. A knowing grin materialized on Alex's face. He couldn't deny it. There _was_ a connection there but it wasn't anything historical. That moment they saw each other they knew something. Alex knew that he was looking at an opponent worth taking on. And he was sure that that Brian character felt something similar. They both wanted to see what the other could offer them in a fair race and both had unreasonably high expectations

Alex turned to Suki. "Hey, you think I can beat him? Straight-up race?"

Suki's eyebrows jumped. That's the second time this day she was asked that question but this time it was from the other party involved. Suki continued to stare down at Alex's awaiting smile. Was he expecting her to say yes to that? Could she honestly say yes anyway? In the short time she knew him, Brian had no equal in Miami. The only one who could ever come close to him was Rome. He has already established himself as a legend on the sunny streets.

But what about Alex? His legend was just starting. After Brian left, the bar was set pretty high for any would-be street king to replace him. So far a bunch of really good racers have started fighting for the position of top dog. That included Suki. She wanted to raise her own game to an new level and for the most part succeeded in it. But then came Alex. Just like Brian, he came from out of nowhere with a past that was less than clear and a talent to wipe out anyone who stood up against him. It wasn't long before people noticed the new kid on the block.

funny. The more Suki thought about it the more she wanted to see it for herself: a race between Alex and Brian. Who would win?

Alex seemed to have read her mind. "You can't really tell me, huh?"

"It's kinda hard to compare the two of you. You guys are on a level that is even above me. I can't say for sure."

"Then that's fine. I like having something to look forward to."

"What's that mean?"

Alex's smile remained but the meaning behind it shifted. He looked excited, giddy even. "If he's that good...then it's only a matter of time before we have to face him in this tournament...we'll see if we can;t answer that question of ours then.

* * *

Somewhere nearby.

Many people consider Rome to be an intimidating guy. He simply had that kind of look. Always seeming to be looking for trouble, always ready for a fight anytime, anywhere. It was that look that usually attracted the ladies to him but at the same time it usually got him into trouble. That and his overly cocky nature. Though if he tried, he could be downright approachable. Those who have earned his respect he treated as he would have himself treated. His grandma never let him forget that golden rule.

But now he felt less than friendly. He was looking for someone among the crowd. And by his demeanor he really looked like he was looking for trouble. But the person her was searching for wasn't fooled.

Someone whistled at him from behind. "Yo, Rome!"

Rome stopped in his stride. The voice was unmistakable. He turned around a sure enough, Brian O'Conner stood no more that ten feet from him. Rome's face was neutral at best and so was Brian's. A few seconds of silence passed between the two men before Brian spoke up again.

"Or is it that only your homeboys call you "Rome?""said Brian.

"So, you still think you're my homeboy?"

"Well I ain't a _pig_ anymore either, cus'."

Brian knew Rome's feelings towards cops. He knew Rome wasn't exactly thrilled when Brian decided to become federal agent (he wondered what Rome must feel now that he's once again wanted by the FBI for aiding and abetting a known fugutive).

"Yeah, about that. What's up with you, man? You serious about this cop thing or are you just playin'?"

"Let's just say I finally decided I was a bad guy trying to become a good guy...and generally sucking at it."

"Then why bother?"

"Oh, you know me. Always looking for a thrill."

Yes, Rome did knew him. He was always looking for a thrill. But deeper than that he was always looking for a purpose. Rome knew that for Brian life needed a direction. He wasn't those live-by-the-day type of guys. He was one of those rare prodigies that come by every once in a while. Ever since he was a kid Brian was always acting out, looking for something that made him feel alive, and often they were not wise decisions. Little wonder why he was always in trouble in his youth.

Rome suspected that Brian settled on becoming a cop because of the sense of power and authority it gave a man, as well as the almost singular directional purpose of the badge. To protect and serve. It was clear, concise, and didn't need a psychology professor to interpret it. But even then Rome knew that even though God knew Brian was a damn good cop he was never really comfortable with it either. Somewhere inside he was still searching for what he was supposed to be.

Rome wondered if he finally finished that little quest of his.

"How'd you get back into this country anyway? Last I heard you were in Japan, eating sushi and shit."

"I don't know about any shit, but yeah, the sushi is fantastic once you get used to it. Just stay away from the blowfish. And getting back into the US is easier than you'd think. Especially if you have all the right connections. It also helped that I happen to know a lot about how the law around here works."

Rome knew that that could mean any number of methods. He could've just forged some ID's, wore a disguise and strolled right though LAX for all he knew. "So why are you back...It can't be just for this tournament."

Brian slowly grinned. A grin Rome had seen before. "You could say that..."

"What the hell are you up to, brah'?"

"Like I told Suki, There's some unfinished business that a friend of mine needs to settle here...And I have a feeling you guys can give us some help with that."

* * *

On the opposite end of the lot.

Like most immigrants, Ryosuke Takeshi's family came to the USA from Japan to pursue the American dream.

And in a sense they achieved it. Using his grandfather's money which they received as an inheritance, Ryosuke's father used it as capital to start their own computer parts retail and repair store. Ryosuke was four then. And by the time he was six, his dad's computer store business had expanded into multiple branches across San Diego, allowing them to amass a small but substantial fortune in the bank. By the time he was nine, His mother had her own business of running a boutique which also quickly gained success. By the time he was twelve, Ryosuke found his calling in the world of the arts, particularly visual arts.

And in his pursuit in the visual arts, he chose a rather unusual canvas: cars.

Now at age twenty-five, Ryosuke worked as a mechanic at a small but successful custom car design shop which specialized mainly in paint, body kits, rims, graphics, and other accessories. They did have tune up services and sold performance parts but for Ryosuke, it was always about the looks. He was not only a mechanic and graphics artist he was also the owner's apprentice and assistant manager.

Many people wouldn't think of a car as a canvas for art. But Ryosuke saw right past the mundane functionality of the automobile. Everything in a car can be customized. _Everything_. Even down to the tiniest bolt. A car can take on any shape, any color, any name, and still retain that same functionality. Just look at the over-saturated auto industry! There is so much variety out there and so much more to come that you'd think the car was a living thing, evolving, adapting, changing with the times like the complex DNA-based life forms that inhabit the planet. Every car unique in its own special way, an extension of its owner's mind and soul. Cars can be cheap, or they can be expensive, big or small, fast or slow, subtle or completely outrageous. No other commercial commodity reflects their owner better than the type of car he or she drives.

What better canvas for art is there? You are what you drive.

Ryosuke nurtured this talent of his and made a fortune for himself out of it. His shop was one of the most successful in California. His clientele is something that even Ferrari would envy. But while he enjoyed bringing out the essence of his customers out onto their rides, he enjoyed it even more so when he expressed himself from his own ride.

He gave his ride sitting on the parking lot a once-over. The '99 model Mazda RX-7 was currently being mobbed by the nearby crowd. It's most obvious modification was the Veilside Fortune model wide bodykit which completely transformed the outside of the car. The bodykit composed of a new front and rear bumpers, side skirt, front and rear fenders. hood, doors, headlights, back window, and spoiler and gave the car a Corvette-esque look. On top of that was the radical tribal design paint-job that covered the whole car.

That was his baby. And he was damn proud of it.

Through his shop he found other people with his passion for car design and performance. Riku Minami took a job as a fabricator a year after he was hired and they became fast friends. Aki Otohime was Riku's cousin who just recently moved to America to live with them. And Sato Minoru was someone they met on the local street racing scene as well as a regular customer at Ryosuke's shop. They all shared the same passion for car customization. It was soon apparent that once they became an official racing crew, the were a force to be reckoned with. In their local scene in San Diego, they were unbeatable.

"Yo, Ryo," called out Riku, sitting atop the hood of her Mitsubishi Eclipse GT, tapping away at a laptop. "Check out the team we're competing against."

"Are they any good?" asked Ryosuke as he approached them.

" As if we can say," said Sato, leaning against the hood of his own car, a Nissan 350Z, parked right next to Riku. "But at least we know they were good enough to win Voc Tech,"

"Anyone can drive in a straight line. This is Street X. This is _our_ territory now. Can their ride even compete?"

Riku tapped away at her keyboard. "Let's see. Three tuner cars and one muscle. A Silvia. An S2000. An Impreza. And finally a classic Barracuda."

"Doesn't sound like much," said the last team member, Aki. Her Acura RSX was parked a little ways behind her. "Are they tuned for corners?"

"You know the network won't say that."

"I think it's their Imprezza that we'll need to fret about the most. That 'Cuda will probably be a push-over."

Ryosuke moved to look at Aki's screen. It displayed the page giving the opposing team's info but in a limited enough fashion. He didn't like this part about street racing. At least in professional racing leagues, driver's knew exactly what the other drivers are packing under the hood since performance restriction are extremely strict in pro racing. That way it was all down to skill. In street racing, and even pro street, drivers have no obligation to reveal the internals of the car they drive. You never know what your opponent maybe hiding under the hood.

"I think we'll have to watch out for that Silvia as well," said Ryosuke.

The other members of the team turned to him. "Why'd you say that?" asked Riku.

"I don't know...I just have a feeling about that guy."

"...You're not getting scared are you, _aniki_?"

Ryosuke looked up at her with grin. "It's not a crime to be cautious. As if it's gonna make a difference anyway. Like I said this is a street X race. this is our turf. The only area where _nobody_ has ever come close to beating us. We came here to win and that's exactly what we're gonna do."

All his team members gave hive approving nods. Ryosuke knew that they were in the best condition so far. There was no way they were gonna lose. He was gonna show the world just how effective his art form is in the streets.

* * *

Author's note. Not much to say here…I'll just be moving along with the stage 2. Sorry for the lateness of this. I had to disappear during the weekend for some family-related stuff so I lost some time on writing. Anyway, pls. r&r as usual.


	23. Chapter 21

At a nearby building.

Last time they needed a half an airplane hangar. Now they only needed about 1 whole floor of an office building's unoccupied basement. Less than six hours ago, this place was empty. Now, it was filled with cloth-covered tables and chairs and plenty of formal dressed guests with the usual buffet table on one side of the room. Large flatscreen, LED TV sets were placed on steel struts around the floor raised eight feet off the ground provided the viewers with high definition images of the event taking place no more than a few blocks away.

The crowd, of course was only half that of the crowd in Voc-Tech. After Stage 1 of the tournament, half of all participants, including the sponsors, had to go. Oh sure, even the losing sponsors were still allowed to bet and watch, just not here. In this place, only winners are allowed.

This was what Virgil thought as he sipped on his champagne glass. He sat at a table of seven, none of the other three he knew. All of them sponsors of different teams. He decided not to sit with Sinclair this time. Just as well, he didn't get an invitation anyway.

With last night's event giving everyone a taste of what's exactly on the table in this tournament, many friendly meetings and acquaintances that were established before engines were started quickly switched to stone cold stares as each and every sponsor knew that it was nothing but business from then on out.

With so much at stake, it had to be nothing but business in this type of crowd.

It always amused Virgil how some of these business-type of people are always so transparent, so plastic in the way they present themselves. Perhaps, he figured, that's what attracted him towards the street.

On the street, away from all the formal suits and leather cases, everything was just so much more…colorful. It wasn't just about money on the street. It was also about charisma, character, reputation. A far cry from the usually drab corporate world. It was a place where he could meet people like Alex.

Speaking of whom.

Jarod's voice came from the speakers. "Kicking tings off for us is a match-up between fellow tuner teams, _Wyldcardz_ from Florida, and _Mad Stylez _from California. Two teams from opposite coasts, both seem to be predominantly tuners. Hopefully, their driving skills is much better than their spelling skills."

On screen, onlookers applauded and cheered as the orange S15 slowly made its way to the starting line, positioning itself about ten feet from his opponent's car: A Mitsubishi Eclipse GT.

"Team _Wyldcardz_ pulled quite an impressive win during the first stage," continued Jarod. No one expected them to pull off the win against an all muscle team in a straight drag race but here they are."

"And now," said D-rail's voice. "Looks like them cats are back at home with this street x gig here. But then again, so is the competition, yo. No miss-match here. This is a straight up showdown for tuner pride."

"That's right, D. Looks like the crowd is pumped already."

The camera turned towards the onlookers who were, predictably, cheering wildly. They came for a show and they know they're going to get it with this match-up. From where he watched Virgil smiled satisfyingly. Everything was going to plan so far for them. He was feeling optimistic even though he knew he could hardly afford to be.

* * *

At the start line.

Both cars were now revving their engines making sure they were at a nice hot temperature and that the oil was properly circulated throughout. Maximum lubrication means maximum efficiency and power output.

Alex peered put his window and shaped-up his opponent's car. A fourth generation Eclipse GT. Alex has faced the Eclipse before. Like the Honda Civic and the Toyota Corolla, The Mitsubishi eclipse was once of those "tuner standards" as he liked to call it. It was cheap, very common, easily tuned JDM vehicle that was at the forefront of the tuner movement.

Alex knew that the second generation Eclipse was a worthy opponent, especially the GSX model with its AWD system. Later generations have been exclusively FWD much to the chagrin of sports car enthusiasts but in general the car didn't lose any of its sportiness and was still a very good GT by most people's standards. A little tuning took it a long way.

Alex listened in on the exhaust note as the Eclipse revved it's motor. He could hear the faint whirring sound of a supercharger. Smart tuning. This car was definitely built for the Street X. He suspected the driver, someone good enough to be in this tournament, had the good sense of tuning the suspension as well. If the car's performance is even half as good as that outrageous styling (Alex found himself staring at the body kit and paint job) then this was gonna be a challenge.

"Well, it wouldn't be fun if it was easy right?" Alex mumbled to himself, getting pumped up for the race.

In the Eclipse, Rikku Minami was doing the same to the S15.

One of the things that was piquing her curiosity was the sound of the engine. It didn't sound like the usual in-line four of the Silvia. It must've been an engine swap, she concluded. She wasn't surprised at this. The Nissan S cars were famous for their excessively large engine bays that allowed engine swappers to put in just about anything in there. She once heard about some guy who put in a Chevy V8 from an old Corvette in an S14.

But that didn't matter to her. If it was anything other than the stock SR20 engine of the Silvia, it was too little or too much. The SR20 was probably the only engine that could match her own MIVEC V6 engine with its Turbonator Stage 2 electric Supercharger. It might not sound all that much but sometimes a little boost is all she needed. With the supercharger on, the engine produced about 320 hp with around 300 ft/lbs of torque at the peak, her engine was ideally set up for this race.

In short, she can't lose.

"I knew it…" she mumbled to herself. "This race is ours…this tournament is ours."

* * *

Somewhere off to the side.

"I'll tell ya, these don't look like good odds, man," said Kate as she stood next to her Impreza waiting tensely for the race to start.

"Good or not, we're not backing down," said Rome. "That's what this team is all about."

"Is That right?" said Brian O'Conner. "Well, I guess you guys wouldn't be much fun if you just packed up when the chips were down."

Kate slowly turned to look to the side. Standing on the other side of the Cuda, opposite of Rome, was a tall, handsome young man wearing a simple NISMO T-shirt, jeans and a pair Chuck Taylors. Kate couldn't remember when the heck this guys suddenly showed up next to them but Rome, for some strange reason wasn't reacting like she was.

"I'm sorry, who are you again?" asked Kate to the stranger.

"Oh, sorry about that," said Rome. "Kate, this is Pig. Pig, Kate."

Brian snickered with bemused humor. Kate just looked even more confused. Brian decided to do introductions himself.

"Name's Brian. Brian O'Conner."

"I see. And Rome thinks you're a...cop?"

"Was."

"About that," butted in Rome. "How'd you lose that last badge? Let your guy go again."

"Actually this time I broke him out of prison."

Now both Rome and Kate were staring at him. "You broke him out of State Correctional?"

"Well not exactly _out of_ prison but more like _on the way to_ prison. We hijacked the bus."

The two _Wyldcardz_ continued to stare incredulously at the man in the NISMO shirt. Brian, despite himself, was enjoying the attention. He hated to admit it but he was a bit of a show-off. It was Rome who broke the silence. "You are the craziest white boy I've ever met, dawg. Is that why you had to high tail to Indo-china or somewhere."

"Japan. And yeah, we had to leave. Things got too hot for us here and we had to bail."

"There not exactly any cooler now, are they?"

"Nope."

"And yet here you are back like a bad rash."

Brian flashed him a bemused look. "Like you said, cus'. I'm the craziest white boy you know."

Rome was about to push the issue when they were interrupted by the roar of the crowd which suddenly got louder. The turned their attention to the start line and saw the starter of the race move to her position in between the two cars. The race was finally starting

* * *

Back at the start line.

A young woman who looked like a supermodel in her own right stepped forth from the crowd and positioned herself between the two cars. She gave each driver a look and both drivers gave a nod in response. She took that as he signal to start the race. She raised both her hands with all fingers extended outwards. Starting from the pinkies, she slowly counted down to start. As her index finger fell and her thumb started to fold in…

"This is done...over…it's mine," mumbled Rikku.

"Here we…go," mumbled Alex

The starter girl dropped her arms and smoked erupted from the two cars' tires.

The FWD Eclipse took an early lead by half-a-car's length by the time they reached the corner of the warehouse. Rikku turned left hard and her tires squealed. Having the inside line from the start sure helped her in gaining this advantage. Alex was utilizing all of the S15's baking potential here. He was now sticking to the Eclipse's rear bumper.

The first to get into the warehouse was Rikku of course and Alex was not far behind (less than a quarter of a second) The moment Rikku entered the warehouse, she realized how little justice the video from the go kart did the place. She's been in tight tracks before but all the "streets" in here were ridiculously narrow by racing standards. It felt like a rally track driving in there.

Rikku didn't really have time to think about all this. Before she knew it the wall was approaching fast. A hard right and into the first straightaway of the course. As soon as she was clear, she floored it, her supercharger whistling loudly. But as she did, she became the victim of an old nemesis.

Alex, whose S15 was following quite closely, recognized this as his opportunity to make a move. As he predicted, the Eclipse, even while turning hard, slid far and went much closer to the outer wall than he did. His S15, with careful application of handbrake, managed to take a tight turn in and stick much closer to the inner wall and the center line of the course. As a result he had a clear path ahead.

"Thank, laws of physics," he exclaimed while smirking.

"And almost immediately," came Jarod, "the Eclipse got into a little trouble. It seems that that driver is a little to excited. In a race like this, what you need is a cool head, right partner?"

"Definitely, dawg," replied D-rail. "Girl's acting like she got all the grip in the world. Driving like that, she shoulda' knew , man, _understeer_, baby.""

General rule with cars: RWD is to oversteer as FWD is to understeer. Both basically mean a loss of grip at the tires. The difference is where those tires are. Oversteer affects the rear wheels while understeer affects the front wheels and both happen when the driver gives too much power. And if you think about it, it makes sense.

Oversteer happens when too much power goes to the back in a RWD car and the rear wheels start to slide. The usual result is that the back end of the car swings out due to inertia of a turn. The usual danger is that that car will simply spin out or worse, if it has enough forward momentum when it turns sideways, flip the car on its side.

Understeer, on the other end of the spectrum, happens when too much power goes to the front in a FWD car and the front wheels start to slide. The usual result is that the car can't make the turn as sharply as the driver wants and the car ends up sliding outward under its own momentum. The usual danger is that the car will slide all the way off the track and worse, if there's a barrier, crash into it.

This is only a general rule though and neither oversteer nor understeer affects RWD and FWD cars exclusively. They simply affect them more probably due to the nature of the drive wheels of each type of car. But what is most important about this is that a real driver will know how to effectively take advantage of this rule.

Alex did just that. He anticipated that the Eclipse would understeer, noting how excited the driver was early on in the race. That left him with a relatively wide avenue to take advantage off as his opponent's car drifted outward close to the outer wall. Using his handbrake, he induce a little oversteer into his own S15, just enough to swing the back a little bit to get him pointed straight down the track as he emerged from the turn.

The gambit worked and Alex gunned the engine. As both cars drove down the straight, Alex had already taken over the lead by the time they reached half-way down the straightaway. Above them, audience members from the walkways were expressing their excitement.

"_Kuso!_" cursed Rikku. She wasn't expecting that.

She knew she got too excited and slid in that last corner. She'd have to be more careful. Especially with the chicane coming up. But first, there was the hairpin. The Eclipse was already about a car-length behind the S15 by the time the reach the hairpin.

The S15 braked hard as it took the inside lane. Alex used careful manipulation of the steering wheel. To control the slight swinging out of the tail end. He managed the turn smoothly enough thanks to his experience. Rikku had to follow closely in order to keep any chances of winning this race. But she knew it was useless to try and follow the same line as the S15. She decided to take the outside.

As the S15 braked and started to make the turn right, the Eclipse veered left. Rikku tapped the brake lightly enough to slow her down to a safe speed. Then sharply turned right again, and then gunned the engine. However instead of making the same mistake again, she immediately applied the handbrake for a split second.

Applying the handbrake locked the rear wheels for an instant and this caused the back to swing out. As she gunned her motor, the now swung out back end produced a counter effect to the natural understeer, effectively bringing the car into a drift (yes, even FWD cars can drift!) letting Rikku keep the car pointed in the direction she wanted it to.

Alex noticed this in his side mirror. He tried to take counteraction but Rikku had already positioned herself well enough to take the outside line going into the chicane. With a little bit more power, she regained the lead from the S15. The Eclipse passed the S15 on the outside and made a straight path towards the first chicane.

"Smooth move," said Alex. "She's got real skill."

The Eclipse went tight into first turn taking an aggressive inside line. Rikku was not about to let Alex one-up her again in a corner. Alex had little choice but to follow behind. Making a move here would be dangerous. Above them, assigned cameramen caught the action from atop the containers.

* * *

Somewhere in the crowd outside.

Watching from a laptop, _SpeedProduction_, the most professional team in the whole competition, as they have come to be known, observed closely the ongoing dogfight inside the warehouse. You'd think that with so many competitors in the tournament, it would be impractical to take notes on _every_ team out there. There was just too much to note down.

But the leader of the team, Allen Redfield, was a pro all the way.

Know the opponent; his weaknesses and strengths. Then utilize that knowledge in the field of competition. A few true sportsmen would consider this wise. Most others would probably just view it as paranoia.

"Man, I thought that Nissan was gonna stay in the lead after that move before the straight," said member Oliver Sanders.

"And these are the guys our sponsor warned us about?" asked Matt Anderson with a hint of a giggle as he turned to look back at his teammate standing behind him.

Mark Langford's face was all business and showed no humor whatsoever. He gave Matt a look that seemed to say that he should be quiet. Matt's smile faded and turned back to the screen, following the unsaid command. Mark turned back to the screen itself and kept watching.

By then, the Two cars had already completed the chicane and were entering the short straight right before the deciding straight leading to the track's main obstacle. If that S15 was gonna make a move, it would have to be within the next 30 seconds or else the Eclipse would have this race.

"The race isn't over yet," said their leader Allen Redfield. "Nothing's over until they reach that finish line. Just watch."

* * *

Coming out of the chicane.

The Eclipse was keeping a tight lead with the S15 less than three feet from the Eclipse's bumper more often than not. Neither driver seemed affected by this. Tight proximities was a given. It was only a short dash before the right turn into the last long straight leading to the bottleneck. Rikku knew that if she could just keep the lead for a little bit more, the race was won.

"You ain't passing me," she mumbled. "You got no avenues now, _baka_."

Back in the Silvia.

"Right now, I hope she's thinkin' that I can't pass her," mumbled Alex to himself. "That's gonna make this really sweet."

With that said, Alex pulls back slightly on the throttle and gives himself some distance between the S15 and the Eclipse, Rikku, for her part, didn't see this move. The turn was coming up and she had to concentrate. She knew the best way to take this turn would be the same way she took the turn before the chicane: a wide approach with applied oversteer.

She did just that. As the turn approached she drove outward and did the old but still effective Scandinavian flick of the wheel. Predictably, she felt the front tires lose grip as she put on some power as she turned right into the corner. She yanked the handbrake for a fraction of a second, just enough to lock the rear wheels momentarily locking them, causing them to lose grip and start sliding.

"Looks like the Eclipse is going aggressive again with that slide into the corner," said Jarod. "It seems that she's found a technique that works for her."

"That boy in the Silvia, better pull somthin' man," said D-rail. "Otherwise it ain't gonna take a smartass to know that Eclipse will—wait!...What's that boy up to?!"

Before Rikku knew it, The sound of the S15's V6 engine got really loud really fast. She glanced outside.

"_Nani yo!?_" exclaimed Rikku as she noticed the Silvia's tail end swinging at her. He reaction was as immediate as it was instinctual: She slammed her foot on the brake and steer away from the oncoming S15…which was exactly how Alex wanted it.

Before the tail could completely swing out towards the Eclipse, the S15 seemed to have regained control and suddenly straightened out and started steaming down the straight leaving the Eclipse in the dust. A fact not at all lost to Rikku as she desperately tried to recover.

"_Kono yarou!!_" exclaimed Rikku

"See you later," mumbled Alex inside his own car as if in response to something he didn't hear. He grinned confidently as he shifted up to third gear and watched as the image of the Eclipse get smaller on his rearview mirror.

His move to regain the lead was gutsy and full of risk. But, as Alex himself like to think it, he was nothing if not daring and just a little bit too reckless for his own good.

As the Eclipse was turning into that right corner in its slide, Alex saw that as his perfect opportunity. Copying the opponent's technique, Alex performed a clutch-kick which essentially did the same thing as a handbrake yank: by quickly taping the clutch pedal with your foot, it upsets the drivetrain by momentarily disconnecting the drive shaft from the engine's power. The rear wheels lose power and grip then slide, causing oversteer and bringing the car to a drift once the driver puts the power back on and countersteers.

Alex did the while deliberately aiming his car's back end at the Eclipse in a gamble that the driver would react by backing off. And, fortunately for Alex, it worked like a charm. He wanted to try that trick for a while now, ever since he saw it used by a F1 race car to force another racer to back off. It was a risky move that might've led to a spin out but, because of this event, it was now in Alex's top ten list.

"Whoa! Check this guy out!" excitedly said D-Rail.

"A brilliant offensive strategy by the _Wyldcardz_ leader there, mate," said Jarod. "The Eclipse is now in the dust and the S15 is sailing through that last straight."

The S15 indeed left the Eclipse completely flummoxed. After losing all that momentum, it would be impossible to catch up with the S15 now. Rikku knew this and cursed her damned luck for it. Now all she could do was stick as close as she could to the S15 in hopes that might give her next teammate an easier time.

Alex reached the bottleneck obstacle a full 2 seconds before the Eclipse. He was surprised how the narrow walls made him claustrophobic. The speed at which he was going wasn't making things better. Heck it probably made the walls feel closer around him. No way there wasn't gonna be an accident at this part of the stage of the tournament.

Coming out of the bottle neck it was just a quick turn to the left, a short dash, and a quick right out the door mirroring how they first got into the warehouse. Just outside the door, plenty of cheering onlookers greeted Alex's S15.

* * *

Meanwhile, near the start/finish line.

"Dammit! That didn't go well," said Ryosuke, watching a live video feed on his cellphone much like the people around him, now growing only a slight bit more nervous. This wasn't how he had seen things going.

It was very clear that the _Wyldcarz_ were a formidable team to go up against. To be able to spook Rikku like that, these guys had balls alright. They'd have to up the ante a bit more to increase their chances. Ryosuke turned to his left side where his teammate was preparing to leave as soon as the Eclipse crosses the finish line.

"Sato," called out the leader.

The driver of the 350Z turned to look at his team leader.

"Looks like this might be a little more difficult than we thought," continued Ryosuke. "Make sure you use every mod in your car to give us back the lead, alright."

Sato hesitated answering for a second. "_Every_ mod?"

"Yes, whatever you need to use."

"…Understood."

It was just then that the S15 appeared out of the corner of the warehouse and made a mad dash straight for the finish line. The Eclipse followed about a second-and-a-half later.

As soon as the S15 crossed the line, Kate's Impreza WRX roared to life with screeching tires. Soon she was on her way down the course. The Eclipse eventually crossed the line as well and Sato's 350Z followed suit. He knew what he had to do. All he needed was one opportunity to use that particular mod on his car and then he would be assured of retaking the lead for his team.

"This race is just starting," he said to himself as his 350Z crossed the start line.

* * *

Author's note: Hope you all had a happy new year. Holiday stuff, and lousy internet service sure slowed down this process. Plus I wanted to update my fics one at a time. So here's the next installment of FNF:SU and we finally got some action again. Next update will see the conclusion of _Wyldcardz_ vs _Mad Stylez_.

Other notes: Trnslations: "baka" = "idiot / moron." "Nani yo?!" = "What the?!" "Kono yarou!" = "You bastard! / You asshole!"


	24. Chapter 22

At the entrance to the warehouse

The Impreza WRX roared into the warehouse with. Relying mainly on the Impreza's 4WD, Kate took a wide line, nearly kissing the track barriers. This was to assure that she can reserve as much momentum as she can for her car to make accelerating after coming out of turns faster.

Just under a second behind her, the tricked out 350Z, driven by Sato Minoru, took a different approach. Using the cars RWD and enhanced engine power, thanks mainly to the combination of a Turbonetics Single Turbo kit and a Borla Cat-Back Exhaust system bumping up the total horsepower to a hearty 520 bhp, Sato used a powersliding method which he kept in control with careful application of the gas.

Oversteer, when applied properly, actually becomes a viable method of navigating a track quickly as opposed to being a handicap. Sato has chosen this method to fight against Kate's grip style.

Coming into the first straight, the Impreza lead by a small margin on the outside of the track and the 350Z was trailing on the inside by about half a second. Both cars had around the same power but it was Kate's grip from the 4WD that allowed her for quicker acceleration. The Impreza started to pull away.

"Uh-uh, it ain't gonna be that easy," grumbled Sato.

He briefly looked down onto his custom MOMO steering wheel which contained two buttons within easy reach of his right thumb. The red button on top was labeled NOS. The yellow button just below the red one didn't have a label. His thumb went for the red button.

That activated his NOS system hidden beneath his passenger seat. The short bust of the chemical into the fuel gave a sudden jolt of acceleration that boosted the 350Z past the Impreza with a trail of blue flame flying out of the exhaust. By the time they were halfway down the straight, the 350Z was half a car length ahead of the Impreza and was steadily pulling away. But Kate was nowhere near worried at this point. If anyone could look into her car right now, they would see her grinning.

"And just what the hell are you trying to accomplish?" said Kate.

As far as she knew, Sato just made a rather amateurish mistake. Taking the lead like that was futile in a race like this. The driver of the 350Z should've known that gaining speed like that would simply put him at a disadvantage. Because of that nitrous burst he gave himself more inertia than he can handle to make that turn properly. If anything, it was like he was asking to be slammed into the wall. Kate would easily have the lead back in no time by simply doing a slower, more controlled turn.

While the majority of the people watching were cheering at this apparent act of bravado, some people, particularly those who knew a thing or two about driving, saw the same folly as Kate did.

* * *

Back outside.

"What is this guy up to?" asked Loraine Masters.

She was watching the live feed of the race through her laptop that was resting on the hood of her Porsche 911 GT3. Behind and next to her was the rest of her team, _Premier Street_, a group consisting of some of the best performance you can buy fresh out of the factory, each car an icon of engineering.

"Whatever it is," said their leader, Lisa Jacobson standing next to her prized Gallardo Superleggera, "It looks like something only an amateur would do."

"He's gotta be up to something," said Steven Cannes leaning against his Aston Martin DBS. "No way they can be this stupid after making it to Stage 2 of the tournament."

Steve then unconsciously turned his head towards their last member, Amy Maxwell, as she rested her butt on the hood of her Black Series CLK 63 AMG.

Amy was completely silent, focused completely on the action going on in the video, showing no hint of throwing her own two cents. Steve noted this quickly and gave up on waiting for her to say anything and turned back to the laptop himself. He did make sure to also note the intense look in her eye. As if there was something she was more concentrated on than just the race.

"You have to win," said Amy under her breath. "Whatever happens…Kate, you have to win."

* * *

Back inside the warhouse.

"Well this is an unusual, tactic," commented Jarod. "Last thing I'd expect anyone to do in a race like this is to just go plowing down the course like that."

"Gotta wonder, man," concurred D-rail. "Dose this cat know what he is doin' or what, dawg?"

Sato knew he was leaving a few onlookers wondering about what exactly his strategy. With a slightly forced exhalation, he measured the distance to the hairpin turn. Even with the extra inertia he can still make the turn, albeit sloppily. But that was all part of the plan. They were about two-thirds of the way down the straight. The Impreza was right behind him. It was about time.

His eyes wandered to the yellow button just below the red NOS button. His thumb reached for it.

Meanwhile, Kate was only half paying attention to the 350Z ahead of her and was already preparing to make the tight right hander into the hairpin. If all goes as she thinks it will, the 350Z will go wide on the outside braking wildly. She will recover her lead then. Her hand reached for the gear shifter in readiness for the turn and was getting ready to lift her foot off the gas peda—

_*flash!*_

The 350Z's brake lights suddenly flashed to full brightness without warning.

Kate's trained instincts reacted instantly. Her foot practically smashed the brake pedal into the floor of the car. Her hand that was on the shifter flew back to the steering wheel as she made a sudden lane change to the right. The Impreza's tires squealed loudly along the smooth concrete floor. She could feel all these through her seat and even through the pedals.

All the while the 350Z continued to speed down the straight, not slowing down one bit.

This fact all but alarmed Kate. Why wasn't it slowing down? Did its brakes fail?

No sooner did she think that did she saw the brake lights come on again and this time the 350Z did slow down just as the turn approached. And just as Kate predicted, the 350Z went wide along the outside wall. It would've been the perfect opportunity to take the lead but there was a problem:

Because she braked so hard in the middle of the straight, the Impreza was now at least five to six car lengths behind the 350Z and with over half its momentum lost. Kate was racking her mind. How could this have happened? She saw those brake lights come on! That car should've braked as hard as she did! How com it didn't—

Then it dawned on her. Her face twisted in an expression of anger and frustration.

"That sneaky son--"

* * *

"--of a bitch!" said Alex.

Back outside, Alex had parked his car in a resting area. He also had his cellphone out and was watching the action via the Bluetooth signal being broadcasted in the air. He saw the whole thing happen and like Kate he figured out the dirty little trick behind it all. However his two companions at the rest area, Tej and Jimmy, were a little slow to catch on. They were also watching the action from behind Alex

"What the hell happened, man?" asked Tej, confusion obvious in his tone

"That SOB is using _fake brake lights_!" answered Alex

And that's when the other two finally got it as well.

Every car in the world has brake lights, no exception. And accompanying that fact is that every driver worth his or her license is trained to do one thing when they see brake lights flash in front of them: brake. For casual drivers this is a learned response. For professional race car drivers this is second nature, completely automatic, almost like breathing.

The 350Z driver took advantage of this nature of racers and modified his car accordingly. The yellow button on that steering wheel was wired directly to the brake lights the same way the brake pedal was. This allowed Sato to turn on the brake lights independently of the brakes themselves. Kate fell victim to her own instincts and braked hard when there was absolutely no need to.

This was a clever, thought Alex. Dirty and underhanded, yes, but still very clever indeed.

"Hey, man, isn't that against the rules?!" exclaimed Jimmy.

"_What_ rules?" Alex gave him a sympathetic look. "This is a street race, remember?"

That message sank in quickly and Jimmy knew what it meant. It didn't do much to quell his frustration though. Heck, Alex was pretty frustrated too but there was little any of them can do about it. All mods are technically legal in this tournament. Driver can do what they can with what they got in order to win. For now, Alex will just have to put his faith in his team to pull off a win.

But he knew, Kate had something up her sleeve. That amazing talent of hers that he has only seen her use in very few tight situations in the past. Alex knew that Kat was actually more talented than him overall and the girl had yet to reach her full potential. She can still pull this off.

"C'mon, Kate. This race--"

* * *

"--is not over yet, dirtbag," said Kate.

Back inside the warehouse, the 350Z was just coming out of the chicane and around two seconds later the Impreza also came out of the chicane. It was clear that Kate's grip style was superior and she was catching up despite her earlier mishap but the question was it too little too late. Already the lead car was turning into the last straight and towards the bottleneck. Kate had next to no chances of passing this guy.

Making the left into the last straight, Kate could see that there is now around a half-a-second gap between them. But that slim lead wouldn't mean anything if she would fall for that fake brake light trick again. And she knew she would. Her trained reactions wouldn't allow her to not fall for that trick. And should that happen again, then the gap between them when they finish would be too great for either Rome or Suki to catch up.

She couldn't allow that. There was only one thing she could do.

Time seemed to slow down as Kate forced her mind to focus. She looked ahead, past the 350Z, and to the bottleneck straight ahead. She focused. Suddenly she knew the exact distance from her current position to the bottleneck. Though she couldn't put a number on it, she knew it was the _exact_ distance.

"At that distance," she mumbled. "at this speed…that' exactly _seven_ seconds starting…now."

Kate did something most people would consider insane: she shut her eyes.

She also started counting. "One one thousand…two one thousand…three one thousand…"

Meanwhile, in the 350Z, Sato clearly saw the Impreza gaining on him. As he suspected, the 4WD of the Subaru was indeed superior on this course. But he was still ahead and he still had his trump card with him. Using it would not only ensure his win but give his teammates plenty of space between the competition.

"Usually, I don't like using underhanded tricks like this," mumbled Sato with a grin, "But this is _Ultimate Street_. I'm sure you understand."

Sato thumbed the yellow button and pressed down hard. He could see in his rear view mirror the red halo of the brake lights as they turned on…and the Impreza never slowed down.

"_Nani!?_" exclaimed Sato in his native language.

The Subaru Impreza wasn't at all reacting to the brake lights and instead seemed to edge closer to the 350Z Sato was dumbfounded. He's used this trick a few times before and he knew that it is something that you really do fall for twice. Drivers are just trained too well to react to brake lights that this trick is _always_ effective…unless she can't see the lights.

"_Muri yo…_" Sato grumbled.

Meanwhile, in the Impreza. Kate has no idea that the 350Z's brake lights were on again. Her eyes were firmly closed. She was the picture of perfect calm even as she was now practically bumper to bumper with her opponent and the bottleneck approaching. She continued her counting.

"…five one thousand…six one thousand…NOW!"

The moment she opened her eyes she was exactly at the lip of the bottleneck mere feet from the 350z. Also at that exact moment, she hit the brakes hard which slowed her down enough to make a perfectly coordinated turn the moment she exited the bottleneck. It was absolute perfect timing that put her in the ideal spot for a tight inside line turn.

Caught off-guard and forced to move forward by the Impreza, the 350Z made a wider turn on the outside line. By the time both cars were straight again, The Impreza was neck-and-neck with the 350Z much to the surprise of Sato and everybody else watching.

"Yeehaw!" exclaimed Jarod. "Check that out! That Impreza driver is the business! That was a magnificent turn in and both cars are now back on the same playing field."

"Let's face it," said D-rail, "we all thought that Nissan had it covered there. Looks like anything really can happen on the street! Woo-wee!"

"Now with only a few turns left until these two finish their run, looks like the Impreza has gotten back in the game enough to give her team a fighting chance at the overall win for this stage. What a way to start the night off!"

Inside her car, Kate was more than little proud of herself. "Don't mess with me, asshole!!"

In the last remaining turns before the finish, Kate's grip style of driving somehow allowed her to push closer to the lead. Although coming out of the warehouse, the 350Z was still leading and was able to cross the line first. However, Kate's Impreza crossed the line less than a quarter of a second later. Technically, the 350Z won, but in this type of team battle it didn't matter. Kate had managed to decrease the gap to an insignificant figure. The next set of cars started at almost the same time.

Next it was Roman Pearce in the Plymouth 'Cuda versus Aki Otohime in her Aura RSX.

"_Yosh!_" exclaimed Aki as she floored her gas pedal.

"Alright! Let's spin some rubber!" exclaimed Rome as he followed suit.

Thanks mainly to its RWD, the 'Cuda, after a lot of wheel spin, got off the line first and gained a lead over the RSX quite early. Coming around the warehouse entrance, the 'Cuda held its lead all the way up to the turn in to the first straight inside the warehouse. Clearly the power difference was enormous, and Aki saw this.

"Guess, I can't expect much less from a muscle car, huh?" she said to herself.

As far as engine performance modifications go, the RSX had an AEM cold air intake, DC Sports 4-1 stainless steel header, and a Apex'i N1 cat back exhaust system. Coupled with that is a ACT XTR6 Xtreme 6 pad disc clutch kit and a Venom 400 piggyback engine management system to keep that power in check. The total power output of the engine floats around at 270 bhp. Other modifications include a Endless Mini 6 port front big brake kit, and a Koni sport suspension kit.

Aki knew that for sheer power there was no way of beating that 'Cuda but she more than made up for it in the amount of control she had over that power. It was essentially similar to the difference between a drill and a jack hammer. Power versus precession. And in a race like this, precision is everything.

The 'Cuda, as expected, gained a hefty lead in the first straight and by the hairpin turn had already extended that lead to about two car lengths. If Aki was really worried, she wasn't showing it. If Rome was really confident, he was showing it in spades.

"Woo-hoo! Yeah! This is my house, son! You can't own me!!" exclaimed Rome as he rounded hairpin into the chicane.

Of course the 'Cuda, being a 30-year-old RWD muscle car, made less than a perfect slide across the hairpin. Aki, in her more precise RSX, easily made a sharper turn in with careful application of the handbrake, which allowed her to gain on the 'Cuda even by a small margin though beating Rome was still a far off prospect. The chicane would change that.

"Coming up now is the chicane," said Jarod. "D, any predictions?"

"That RSX is probably gonna own, brotha'" replied D-rail. "Let's face it, y'all. That' 'Cuda is a classic but that baby wasn't built to drive like this. The RSX may have been behind a while, but I'm thinkin' there won't be much of a gap after all this ziggin' and zaggin', yo. My boy down there is gonna have his work cut out for him, believe that."

Just like D-rail predicted, Rome's run through the chicane looked clumsy at best. Despite his high-performance suspension system, the 'Cuda was tail-happy all the way. Rome struggled to keep the 'Cuda from spinning out while maintaining a decent enough speed that the RSX could not pull up on him. Careful application of the gas was keeping Rome in check for now but it was taking all of his concentration to do so.

Aki didn't need to see Rome for herself to know that this was going on. She believes in the same philosophy as Ryosuke that cars reflect their owners but not just in how they look but also how they drive. She watched the 'Cuda, particularly the rear wheels. The sporadic acceleration and deceleration of the wheel spin was a clear indication of the driver's struggle to keep all that power in check. And with a chassis that stiff, Aki knew Rome would have his work cut out for him

Just the opposite of Rome, Aki was having little trouble controlling her ride in taking extremely tight inside turns, barely grazing the corners of the shipping containers acting as barriers. In the length of the chicane, Aki had managed to catch up to Rome's bumper. Now was her best opportunity to own the race.

A perfect opportunity to take this race appeared at the exit of the chicane.

"You're mine, dude," she said.

Just as Rome was powerslideing through the last turn out of the chicane, he was too focused on keeping his ride in check that he never even saw the RSX coming at him from behind. Aki used a precise maneuver to clip the rear corner of Rome's car. You could compare this move to what the cops call a PIT maneuver, made famous by the media and their endless police chase stories. As with the PIT maneuver, this caused the 'Cuda to spin towards the outside and the RSX to sneak past on the inside.

"Now whose house is this, huh?!" exclaimed Aki excitedly as if Rome could hear her.

Rome was not a stranger to this situation though. He knew the limitations of his 'Cuda and he trained himself hours a day on maneuvers that would counter those flaws. The first thing most people would do when they go through a spin out would be to steer in the opposite direction of the spin. But depending on the inertia of the spin, this may work well, or lead to more problems.

Rome acted instinctively, not turning the wheel against the spin but towards it. Along with application of the brakes, Rome managed to end up facing the right direction and hold that line long enough for his tires to regain their grip. He was quite ticked when he saw, as he returned the car back to proper orientation, that the RSX was already turning into the final turn.

"Dammit!" he exclaimed. "Shoulda watched out for that crap!"

The 'Cuda eventually made its way round the left bend into the last straight of the course. Rome was annoyed to see the RSX already halfway down the line and wit blue flames spitting out the exhaust. Aki had activated a NOS nitrous system in the car. Rome slapped his steering wheel in frustration. It was overly clear who was gonna win now.

But that would allow Rome to give up. He still had a responsibility to Suki who will go on the last run for the team. He had to close that gap.

Rome pushed his Hemi engine as far as it can down the straight. He was able to make up some ground but it wasn't much. At the bottleneck it was already too late to pull off any decisive winning moves. Rome performed a powerslide coming out of the bottle neck and continued to gun the engine at every opportunity.

During that last dash, Aki seemed quite impressed that the muscle car was able to regain that much ground on her. Not that it mattered. They had already exited the warehouse and the RSX was ahead by about 1 ½ seconds by the time Aki had crossed the finish line. Rome was beyond disappointed.

"Dammit!" As he turned into the waiting area for his team he spotted the Mazda RX-7 took off and Suki's Honda S2000 followed a second later. Suki was gonna have a tough time ahead of her.

* * *

Back at the restaurant.

Virgil was gripping his wine glass tightly, threatening to break it. His expression showed clear anxiousness. Understandable considering the team he had invested in seemed to have been put into a tight spot.

He admitted to himself that he had underestimated this year's competition. Or maybe he had just overestimated Alex and his crew. Either way, improvements were needed. If the team somehow pulls a miracle here and get the victory, they will have to step up.

Of course, he knew, and he probably suspected that Alex also knew, that winning _Ultimate Street_ was never the master plan anyway. Even so, Virgil would prefer that his team keep them in the loop a little longer so they can get closer to their real target. And after that he'll--

His phone started ringing, interrupting his thoughts.

He picked it up, "Hello?"

"Yo, boss," said one of his lackeys on the phone. "We did some digging, we found a guy that can help us…of course we will probably have to do a little persuading."

"I see…we'll do it tomorrow morning. Make sure the rest of the guys are ready."

"Will do, sir."

Virgil hang up and pocketed his phone away. At least that's one piece of reassuring news. He took another sip from his wine, trying to calm down his nerves as the race continued on the TV screens.

* * *

Back in the warehouse.

The RX-7 powerslided through the entrance in a tight arch, its engine giving off its distinctive sharp puttering as it reaches into the high revs. The S2000 followed a second behind, also taking the same tight slide around the entrance. The crowd above cheered at the appearance of the two highly visual cars. Suki was in a much less festive mood, given the situation.

"Dammit," she mumbled, "it just had to be a _Wankel_."

The Wankel rotary engine that powered the Mazda RX-7 and RX-8 line of sports cars was a true masterpiece of engineering. Unlike the much more common piston engines, rotary engines had no valves, cylinders, pistons, connecting rods, or a crankshaft. Instead it uses a much simpler system of two spinning rotors, shaped like triangle with slightly curved sides, riding on an output shaft, which functions similarly to a crankshaft.

Suki had the right to be concerned. In terms of performance, nothing comes close to the advantages presented by the design of the Wankel rotary engine.

Compared to a typical 4-cylinder engine that has over thirty moving parts, a typical 2-rotor Wankel has just three. This makes the Wankel more sturdy and reliable in the long run and less prone to engine malfunctions. A rotary engine is also more compact since it foregoes the need for rows of round cylinders. This makes it lighter while maintaining a high power to weight ratio.

By design, the rotary engine is also more responsive than piston engine and gives better low-range torque. And the light weight certainly makes cars much more balanced and nimble. When they first came out, Wankel-powered Mazdas dominated the Japanese racing scene and, for a time, were unbeatable. Rotary engines are truly superior performers. Then, you might ask, why aren't rotary engines more widespread?

Because in the world of automobiles it takes more than power and reliability to last. Great performance demands high sacrifice in other departments. Rotary engines burns fuel at less than a third of the efficiency of a normal piston engine. By comparison, a the 1.3L 2-rotor engine of the latest Mazda RX-8 burns more fuel than the 5.4L Modular V8 of the Ford GT supercar. It also burns fuel less cleanly since, by design, all rotary engines burn a bit of oil in the combustion chambers to help maintain the apex seals. This makes the Wankel engines less practical and more expensive to maintain.

As a result, Wankel engines are trapped in its current 2-rotor configuration. While adding more rotors in the design is technically and mechanically rather easy, anything more than three rotors (a la Mazda Cosmos) would make the engine so bad at emissions and fuel efficiency that the maintenance and environmental cost would simply overshadow any performance advantages. An engine like that is just not marketable in today's environmentally conscious and resource conservative world.

Not that any of that mattered to Ryosuke Takeshi, who treated his RX-7 like a samurai treated his katana. He knew it wasn't something to use every day, to go do errands and pick up groceries (he owned a Mazda 3 hatchback for that). The RX-7 was his sword. His soul embodied in metal. It was rare when he took it out on a drive and when he did, he meant business.

"Now let's see what you can do," he mumbled to the image of the S2000 in his rearview mirror.

In the S2000, Suki couldn't deny that she was sweating. "Damn these odds. Gotta do something crazy now."

Speeding down the first straight, Suki was able to come up with what you can call a plan. She didn't want to say it out loud knowing she might just end up criticizing herself for coming up with something crazy. But then in this tournament, everything is crazy. She reached for a switch next to the dashboard which turned on her nitrous system. All she needed to do now was to pushed that little red button on the steering wheel when the time was right.

"Well, here goes whatever," she said. "Let's see how much you really like that car of yours."

Suki shifted up a gear and punched the throttle. This was gonna be close but it was the only chance she had of gaining a good position where she can pass the RX-7.

With still a one-second gap between them, the RX-7 reached the turn first, braking hard and taking a tight arc. Suki had a different method, one that gained quite a fanfare from the spectators. She went for an outside line, did a Scandinavian flick of the steering wheel and launched herself into a wide drifting arc. Ryosuke, upon seeing this in his rearview mirror, seemed confused.

"Now!" exclaimed Suki as she jammed her thumb down on the nitrous switch.

A burst blue flame shot out of the exhaust as the S2000 suddenly gained speed nin the middle of its drift. Now Ryosuke got tense. The sudden burst of power was timed perfectly as the S2000 was just getting grip back in its rear wheels and when it was pointed directly at the apex of the chicane's first corner. The S2000 rocketed towards the chicane, aiming for an inside line. At this point, Ryosuke had two options: block or get out of the way.

Maybe it was the attachment to his car, his pride as a designer or something about not wanting to end up squashed in a crumpled pile of metal, but before he knew it Ryosuke was scrambling to get out of the way and give the S2000 some room. Suki took the opportunity and muscled her way into the chicane. And for the rest of the chicane, the two cars tried muscling the other left and right, jockeying for first place.

"Lookit, what we have here!" said D-rail. "Looks like the _Wyldcadrz_ aren't beat just yet. The little lady in the Honda is pulling out all the stops. That wicked move at the hairpin gave her a chance but will she be able to throwdown now?"

"And things are looking pretty hectic in the chicane," said Jarod. "Both cars not giving the other an inch to spare."

After finally reaching the end of the chicane, The RX-7 and the S2000 somehow ended up neck and neck. A good development for Suki, a frustrating one for Ryosuke, who was steadily losing his nerve.

"_Kono ama_," cursed Ryosuke.

And after the left turn into the final straight, the two cars were already neck and neck. Like this, Suki was able to stay almost in perfect alignment with Ryosuke. Many consider the Honda S2000 to be the contemporary rival to the Mazda RX-7 and Suki was proving it then and there.

The two cars sped up steadily but continued to stay neck and neck. The bottleneck was fast approaching and both knew that one of them will have to pull out if either one will have a chance of winning the race. As they got closer to the bottleneck the closer the two cars got closer and closer to one another. By the halfway mark. There was less than foot between the wheel arches.

Somehow it all boiled down to a game of chicken (slightly modified).

"Look at this!" exclaimed Jarod. "All that drama from all those other team members and the _Wyldcardz_ have managed to even the playing field at the last moment! The S2000 is making one last gamble here, folks. And what a gamble it is!"

"Let's see how _mad_ those _Mad Stylez_ cats really are!" said D-rail.

Suki focused only on the bottleneck ahead, not bothering to give thought to the panicking driver next to her. Ryosuke was sweating marbles. He was out of options. The bottleneck came closer and closer and the twitching in his fingers wouldn't stop. He told himself over and over again he'd make it. He told himself over and over that this race was already his. He was gonna win. His team would go all the way to the final victory. He would—

"_KUSO!!_" Ryosuke slammed on the brakes.

The moment the RX-7 backed away, Suki quickly turned in to take center. The bottleneck arrived and the S2000 very nearly scraped the edge of the container. The RX-7 followed about half-a-second behind. The crowd went wild at the sudden development.

* * *

Back outside.

In front of a cheering crowd, Alex, Kate, Rome, Jimmy and Tej let out a huge sigh of relief and a few thanks to whoever was watching over them as they saw the Honda S2000 appear from around the corner first and speeding towards the finish line. The RX-7 followed shortly, already slowing down, knowing there was no point anymore in exerting itself.

The S2000 turned into her team's waiting area and the moment she stopped, Suki was swarmed by cheering audience members. Among them, the rest of her team managed to get past the crowd. Suki made a bee line fro Alex and jumped into a hug.

"Almost thought I wouldn't make it," she said.

"It wouldn't be fun if it was easy, now would it?"

"Yeah, but that was a little too much fun. Cutting it close aren't we? But I guess that just shows what level this competition is in."

"Yeah…and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Things are only gonna get tougher from here on. Tougher and faster."

* * *

Author's note: Kinda late huh? There was a plot bunny uprising in my head and I've been typing up some story ideas so this and the other thing I'm working on kinda got delayed. Anyways here's the end of stage 2. Make sure to check out the next exciting installment once I get it uploaded. As usual pls. r&r


	25. Interlude 2

The Nevada desert, day break.

If this wasn't the middle of nowhere, you could probably see it from here. The seemingly barren land of the desert seemed to stretch for eternity. There was an eerie silence to it, especially at this hour where the nocturnal creature were just now settling in and the daytime creatures were almost ready to come out. In this hour, there was almost nothing but the wind whistling against the dry rock of the earth. But on this hour, on this day, the hidden creatures of the desert were about to have a rude awakening.

Out here, in the middle of nowhere, the silent atmosphere was broken by the sound of loud, rumbling engines. And the bleak view of the desert was ruined by long dust trials moving at high rates of speed.

In a wide clearing between two small hill ranges, a chase was going on. The one ahead and most likely the one being chased was a classic '74 Chevy El Camino, tricked out with bright red glittering paint and was sitting on bright 18" chrome rims that even in this twilight sky, were blinding as heck. Little wonder why the chasers weren't worried about loosing sight of the Camino.

Speaking of which, the chasers where the two familiar black Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X's that was part of Virgil's crew. The two rally-bred saloons easily kept pace with the classic muscle car ahead of them. In fact, the two Evo X's probably could pass the Camino easily but a smart hunter doesn't make a move until the prey is exactly where they want it to be. And for the Camino that moment was soon approaching.

Eventually, the Evo X's made their move, the one to the right suddenly accelerated and began to overtake the Camino. The driver of the Camino spotted this immediately and began to drift left. The other Evo X, still lagging behind by a short distance, quickly steered to follow the Camino like a dog herding an errant sheep. The Camino was corralled back into a straight path and the driver inside continued to sweat right Evo X continued to accelerate until it was ahead of the Camino by about two car lengths, creating a wall of dust on the right of the Camino blocking whatever view of the horizon the driver had.

But the Evo X did not make a move to get directly in front of the Camino which puzzled the driver. The Evo X behind him as well remained in the back and didn't show any intention of passing him. He strained his eyes and could see that the drivers of the Evo X's seemed to be talking into radios. What was their plan? Were they trying to box him in or something? In the open desert of all places? Exactly what were they trying to do-

The driver's thoughts were interrupted as a huge black mass came barreling out of the dust cloud on his right. A split second before it hit him, he identified it as the off-road tuned Toyota Tacoma.

That, it turned out, was their plan. With one Evo X behind keeping him on a straigh path and the other Evo X ahead on the right creating a camouflaging cloud of dust in its wake, the Tacoma managed to sneak in from the far right to make a single, precise, coordinated attack run. The driver of the Camino never saw it coming.

The tough front bumper of the Tacoma crashed right into the right rear wheel. The Camino spun uncontrollably as a result and after a second of spinning the wheels caught on the loose dirt and pure inertia flipped the car end over end with parts breaking off and flying all over the place. After a series of terrifying flips and rolls, lasting about a hundred yards, the Camino finally came to rest on it's roof as a heap of twisted metal that was almost unrecognizable.

After a few moments of dead silence, the driver of the Camino managed to pull himself out of his crushed ride. His head was covered in blood that was leaking from a gash running across his forehead. His jacket, shirt and pants were stained with blood leaking from open wounds. Despite his injuries he was generally relived to be still alive after that crash. But that relief was very short-lived.

Looking up from the ground, the Camino's driver noticed he was already surrounded by Virgil's crew, namely the two Evo X drivers and the Tacoma's driver and passenger, the latter of whom was holding an Uzi submachinegun.

Panicked out of his wits, the bleeding driver on the ground quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out a PDA and held it out to the four men. "Here...take it...this is what you want, right? Just please...don't kill me. Please...I'm unarmed."

One of the men stepped forward and took the PDA from his hand. A quick look at the PDA's contents seemed to satisfy the guy and he pocketed the PDA away then gave a nod to the rest of the crew present. The Man with the Uzi stepped forward, cocked his gun, and aimed at the fallen driver.

The Man on the ground looked scared out of his wits and started spitting out a number of excuses why he shouldn't die. The man with the Uzi thought for a second and, in what could be mistaken as mercy, lowered the gun. It wasn't a move of pity or mercy. The gunman was just thinking economically. They were out in the middle of nowhere and this guy just lost his only means of getting back to the city on top of the fact that his body is already half-broken. Why waste the bullets when he'll be dead by lunch time?

The man with the Uzi turned back around and headed back to the Tacoma. That's when the man on the ground quickly changed his mood and quickly opened and reached into his jacket to pull out a Glock pistol. It was timed badly, as one of the Evo drivers, who was getting back into his car at that moment, spotted the move and cried out "Look out!"

The man with the Uzi reacted instinctively, turning on his heel on a dime and quickly stretching out the Uzi squeezing the trigger.

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To the hills on west.

Brian O'Conner watched with a stern glare through a pair of binoculars as the gunman cut the Camino driver in half with his Uzi before the he could even fit his finger into the trigger guard. The gunman, without so much as a second glance, walked back with the rest of his group to their vehicles. A minute later they were leaving trails of dust all the way back to the interstate.


	26. Chapter 23

At the site of the crash.

Brian had waited a whole five minutes after the Lan Evo's and the Tacoma were completely out of sight and ear. He drove his silver and blue Skyline right up to the wreckage of the El Camino and the the corpse of the driver. Out of habit, he searched the surrounding area while still in the cover of his car, a task that took nearly two minutes. He left the engine running when he stepped out and he carried a loaded Glock 17 pistol at the ready.

Better safe than sorry. If he learned anything from his stint with the FBI, it was that that saying had more truth in it than most people would assume.

He walked cautiously towards the victim who was lying still on the ground, leaving no doubt that he was as dead as a doornail, as the old saying goes. The cause was obvious. Brian could see that the almost whole clip of the ammo was emptied into the guy's torso turning it into hamburger meat. Vital organs dead and rotting.

Brian then moved up to the man's face. It was covered with sweat and dirt but was still otherwise identifiable. Brian took out his cellphone, accessed it's internal media gallery, and pulled up a candid photo of a man's face. Brian looked back and forth between the photo and the man's face. Aside from the haircut (the dead guy had short hair while the guy in the image had a mullet) it was a match.

This was the guy he had been tailing for a while now. "Dammit," he mumbled into the empty air.

When Brian had gotten word that Sinclair was after someone in the tournament, it didn't take him all that long to find out who had been hired to make a hit. After that, it was a fairly easy task to track down this hitman and follow him. All those years on the force and in the bureau counted for something.

Unfortunately, someone had beaten him to it. Someone who already knew that a hit was gonna take place and were already on the move just when Brian himself found out exactly who were the targets for the hit and why.

By interesting coincidence, at the time he was headed for the dead man's location, it was just in time to see him get chased into the desert. So Brian ended up chasing the people chasing his mark.

It was easy enough to tail them, even easier when they were out in the desert since with all the excitement going on, there was no way for them to spot him nearly a mile behind. The former FBI agent was easily able to sneak towards the other side of the hills to the west, park the Skyline where nobody could see it, and take his position on the crest where see everything that was going one while have very little chance of being spotted.

After satisfied that he has confirmed the identity of the man, Brian moved to the wrecked El Camino and began rummaging through what's left of it. He had noticed that the guys who took out his mark came only to eliminate the guy and maybe retrieve what he though was some kind of mobile device. They didn't bother searching the truck itself, maybe because got what they wanted or they just weren't professionally inclined to do so. Brian, of course, knew better than to leave a few stones unturned.

Instead of checking the obvious hiding places first, he checked the not so obvious: under the seat cushions, behind the backrests, in the wheel wells, inside the lining of the roof...nothing. Then he moved to the obvious hiding place, namely the glove-box. That's where he found a little black book of phone numbers. He sighed exasperatingly. The glove-box? Really? Don't people watch James Bond anymore?

He pocketed the book to inspect for later then headed back to his car.

"Manny and the guys aren't gonna like this," he said to himself. "Time to move to plan B, I guess."

As he turned back towards the direction of the main road he made a mental note: Come up with a plan B.

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Later that day.

It was now a few hours after breakfast, just that time of day when you start looking forward to lunch. Back at the overlook over the lake, Virgil and Alex once again were meeting. At first Alex thought this was about his team's not so stellar performance during Stage 2 but now Alex got a lot more than he wished for.

"Here, check this out," was the first thing Virgil told him as he got out of the S15 while handing a PDA.

Alex took the PDA and started browsing the files inside. The most prominent files were pictures. Not just any pictures either. The PDA was full of pictures of _his team_. Alex's eyes went wide with shock.

They were clearly taken without consent. All the pictures were taken without any of them knowing. There were pictures like him and Suki walking down the pool of the hotel. Pictures of Rome having a drink on balcony of their suite. Pictures of Jimmy, Tej and the girls as they were tinkering with the cars on the empty lot they were using as a make-shift garage. And, on an interesting note, a few pictures of Kate as she was starting to make out with her mechanic, Mei.

No real surprises for Alex on those last set of images but can you blame him for staring too long?

"You know what these are, don't you?" asked Virgil.

Alex turned serious. "Yeah. Someone's been scouting us out."

"Sinclair is starting to get a drift of what we're up to. Like I warned you about, he's already playing dirty outside the tracks. The man we got this from was a reputable hitman who used to work for the mob."

"What did you do to him?"

Virgil gave Alex a steely smirk. "The same kind of chance he would've given to you."

Alex pretended he wasn't made uncomfortable by that. "Did you find any other guys after us?"

"None so far. But if there is, it won't be for a while that they'll come after you. Sinclair is a smart man. He only hired one anonymous hitman for the time being to avoid too much attention."

"I suppose so. So now what?"

"Virgil, reached into his pocket again and this time produced a small wad of cash. "Your share of the betting pool once again. The odds were pretty high against you this time so we made quite the profit."

He handed it over to Alex who showed only a slight hesitation in taking it.

"For now," continued Virgil. "I suggest you switch hotels for now. The one your in is probably being monitored and if they hire someone else that's probably where they'll check first."

"You don't have any other information on who really put the hit on my crew?"

"It ought to be obvious, my friend. But no we don't. All we have is that PDA right there."

"You could've left that hitman alive and interrogated him a bit more you know?"

"He probably wouldn't have know more than your location. Also, it would just like Sinclair to hire him via proxy so he wouldn't have known anything that we could trace to Sinclair directly. Interrogating him would've been a waste of time."

"Still, you didn't have to kill him."

Virgil said nothing for a moment and simply stared at Alex as if he said something weird. Alex didn't waiver from the look Virgil gave him. He waited and stood his ground as if to indicate that he also stood by he last statement. Virgil slowly strolled towards Alex with a look of naivety in his eye. He was less than a foot away from Alex when he leaned in and said to Alex's ear ion a hush tone.

"That's the kind of thinking that got you Old Joe killed you know?" said Virgil with the faintest hint of maliciousness.

Alex would be lying if he said he wasn't shaken by it but managed to keep his composure. He wasn't gonna let Virgil get the best of him now.

"That kind of thinking was what got him respect. "

"What good is respect once you're dead?"

"Not one person had a bad to say about him when we buried him. He died a proud man with his principles intact."

Virgil was laughing but was trying to hold himself back so as to not sound too rude. It wasn't working. Alex had to physically restrain his fist from flying straight into the bastard's jaw. Virgil got a hold of himself enough to continued the conversation.

"Your talents as a racer have gotten you far in this world, my friend," said Virgil, now starting to sound a little preachy. "But eventually you will have to learn that in this cut-throat world, talent is not enough. You're gonna have to be smarter than that. There will come a time when you have to screw somebody over in order to get what you need. You have to have more guts, my friend. You have to be more like..like...

"You?"

A short silence, followed by some soft snickering from Virgil.

"You'd best spend your time preparing for the next stage of the tournament. The competition is only going to get tougher. Oh, and you can keep that PDA. Show it to your friends and maybe try getting their opinion on what should be done."

With that, Virgil gave Alex a friendly pat on the shoulder and walked towards his BMW.

"What exactly do you plan to do after this tournament is over?" asked Alex.

Without looking back, Virgil stopped for a moment and answered. "What I do best, my friend. Take advantage of a good opportunity."

Virgil continued on to his car, got in, started it up and drove away. Alex stood there and waited until Virgil was out of his sight and his car was out of earshot. The second that was, Alex muttered a string of curses that would make a sailor cringe. He was making it clear that Virgil irritated him to no end. Too bad he couldn't do anything about it in the meantime. With luck, he'll get his opportunity soon enough.

But he had more immediate concerns. He looked down on the PDA again. For all the asshole that he was, Virgil had a point. His crew was in danger now and he needed to act accordingly. Switching hotels would be a good idea. Heck, maybe they should just avoid hotels altogether. But where will they stay. After going this far, they couldn't simply back out of the plan. What else can he do? No. Not just him, Alex decided. What else can _they_ do?

He'll have to take it up with the team. He can't make this decision alone for all of them. They were a team, and if his own life has taught him anything, a team is one's family. Besides, he had a feeling this wasn't their first waltz. God knows it wasn't his. He browsed through the images stored in the PDA again, just to remind himself what was at stake.

And for a moment he forgot it while looking through the last set of images...those with Kate and Mei.

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Some time later.

Alex had arrived at a remote parking lot where he told the rest of the team to gather. A spot he and Kate knew about and often used as a meeting spot when they were in Vegas. Kate lead the rest of the group there and by the time Alex arrived the roster of drivers, cars, mechanics, and team manager was complete. The lot they met at was behind an old truck stop at the edge of the city, abandoned and left to rot. They were inside one of the large garages designed to service big rigs but was now simply an impromptu warehouse for discarded tools and equipment.

Alex wasted no time in explaining the situation to them all and everyone was in serious mode. The full weight of the situation came down on them and some looked understandably nervous, like Jimmy and the team's mechanics. Suki, Kate, Rome, and Tej showed a concern but kept their cool. Like Alex thought, they had danced this dance before. He then proceeded to show them the PDA given to him by Virgil.

"Weird, how come there aren't any pictures of me?" asked Kate.

Alex tried to look innocent. "Who knows?"

"And how come there's a recent email sent to your address, Alex?"

"Uh...To backup the data, of course. Hehe."

Kate raised an inquisitive eyebrow but didn't probe much into it. Instead, she turned to the rest of the group. "So...what do we do now?"

There was a palpable silence in the air for a good short while. Everyone wanted to say something but nobody could say a word either. The situation had changed dramatically now. Lives were now on the line. _Their_ lives. And these weren't push-overs. These guys were professional organized criminals.

Oh, sure it might be a little hypocritical but while no-one from the crew is a saint. They weren't killers, blackmailers, extortionists, basically they were not the mob. They were just guys looking for a thrill that happened to be less than legal. Still, that meant they couldn't go to the police. That was a the problem with living as an outlaw: you're outside the law.

The conflict in Alex's mind churning his head like a blender. The original reason he agreed to this was that it was the best opportunity to get some revenge on the man that screwed them over and caused him to lose his home and what little semblance of a family he had known. Kate, he knew, felt similar. This whole trip was for them but now the priorities were in question. he had a new family now. One he built in Miami and managed to somehow drag along in this vendetta of his. It was supposed to be fun, but now the figurative fecal matter was hitting the fan.

Could he risk his friends for his own personal quest?

No. Of course not. They had agreed to come to Vegas for a competition, not to risk their lives. For Alex the only option to him was all too obvious.

"The game has changed too much," said Alex, breaking the silence and catching everyone's attention. "I say we bail."

He analyzed the reactions of everyone in the room. He wasn't surprised that just about everybody in the room had that "hell no" look in their eyes. Tej, Suki, and Kate were the only one who remained calm though. They knew Alex best and quickly got why he wanted this. Alex continued.

"I know that didn't sound like the most heroic and honorable thing to do, but I have my reasons for picking this option. From the start this was really my personal vendetta."

"Mine as well," added Kate. "You guys weren't part of this originally."

"Exactly. It was too much to ask of you to stick with me this long already. I can't allow you guys to risk your lives for something like a personal beef of mine."

"Whoa! hold-up now!" interrupted Rome. "You think we can just pack-up like that? Let's say we go back to Florida, I got the feelin' this Virgil cat ain't just gonna let that go. He's gonna come after us, you know that?"

"We do know that," said Kate. "And we've planned for that as well. We have evidence of his past dealings. Hard evidence that can put him behind bars for a long time. We've been saving that up just for something like this. We know how dangerous Virgil can be, dude."

"Sounds iffy. What makes you think it'll work?"

Alex and Kate were silent long enough for the rest of the group to take that as a figurative "we-don't-know" which didn't do much to boost morale. Tej could sort of figure out why those two would be unsure. His first impression of Virgil was that he was a man that was on top of things. A little blackmail scheme like this might not work for a man who knew how to use his resources. And Tej suspected this man had a lot of resources.

"I'm not feelin' that plan, brah," said Tej. "We gotta come up with something better than that."

"But what?" asked Jimmy. "What can we do? Do we, like, just stay the course and hopefully win the tournament and hopefully get Virgil's blessing after that and be on our merry way."

"Somehow I don't think that dude is gonna let things end that way," said Rome. "The way I see him, he's not gonna quit on us until he squeezes everything he can get out of us. If we're gonna bail on this, and I also think we should, we need a guaranteed plan he's gonna go down hard."

Alex let out an exasperated sigh of defeat. "Yeah, you're right. Virgil used to be more honorable than this. Now he's turning into just another street thug."

"Guess times are just tough on him," added Kate.

"And a desperate man will do desperate things. Which is why I'd rather not risk you guys anymore than I have. We bail back to Miami and I'll come up with something to take care of Virgil. That's the best plan right now."

"What about Virgil?" pressed Rome.

"He won't be your concern anymore."

"Wait. So you're just gonna go after him alone? Are you crazy, man? You guys could get killed, you know?"

"Yes, Rome, we know!" interjected Kate. "Our point is we're trying to keep you guys safe. You don't know Virgil like we do. Sure you were right when you said you thought of him as the kind of dude who won't just let stuff go but you have no idea, man. We can't afford you guys taking on that much heat.

"But we wanna help you guys. We can't just leave you like that."

Alex was actually getting frustrated now. "We'll think of something, don't worry. You guys don't have to be in the line of fire anymo-"

_*Slap*_

Suki, who had been quiet throughout the discussion so far, somehow saw fit to walk up to Alex and promptly slap him across the cheek. The impact rattled his jaw a bit and would probably leave a red mark for a while but it was nothing too damaging. Clearly, Suki just wanted him to switch though trains for a second. He turned towards the girl he was dating and saw a look of anger and frustration he never saw before. Around them, the rest of the gang looked quite shocked.

"Will you cut the macho crap," said Suki. "You know I hate that. Where do you get off in telling us to bail out on you so you can deal with this on your own? You too Kate! What part of 'we're a team' did you guys not understand?"

Another palpable silence where no one said a word. Alex was left gawking at Suki who kept that angry look.

"Listen," started Suki. "We we're a team before this whole thing started. And we sill _stay_ a team after this is over with. You think giving out some bullshit reason like it's a personal thing will be enough to justify you two going off on your own? Geez! Grow-up! As if any of us is gonna let that happen. You need our help and you're gonna get whether you two like it or not. Clear?"

Silence again. Now Suki was annoyed.

She walked right up to Alex. She was so close her breast pressed against his chest. She grabbed his shoulder with one hand and pulled him down so that their noses were almost touching. It was one of those rare moments where Alex was actually afraid for his life.

"Clear?" Suki asked again, this time slurring the word.

"...Crystal," replied Alex, somewhat timidly.

Suki turned her glare towards Kate who then felt like her soul was being stabbed. Suki asked. "Kate?"

Kate didn't even hesitate. "Yes! Clear! Very clear!"

Alex couldn't help but smirk ever so slightly as he looked At Suki's angry face. He had almost forgotten what attracted to her.

Suki turned away in a pout. "Geez, what's with you two sometimes. Is it a Vegas thing? Sheesh!"

Somehow, Suki's little display cleared a big chunk of the tension in the air. Gradually the rest of the team started smirking in amusement knowing that a potential crisis was just averted. Alex caught Rome looking more entertained than the others. Rome made a gesture with his hand as if flailing a whip and mouthed the appropriate sound effect. Alex mouthed a phrase that most people might take offend to, which Rome just took in humor.

"Still," started Kate. "Even if we stay together in this...I don't think we really have the resources we need right now to put Virgil in his place."

"Which was what we've been trying to tell you," said Tej.

"So what do we do then? We're gonna need more than we have now to make this work. Where will we get the help?"

From out of nowhere: "Maybe we can help with that."

The whole group turned in the direction of the new voice. At the corner of the garage entrance was Brian O'Conner and the rest of _Project 75_ right behind him. The looks of the _Wyldcardz_ varied from curious to completely surprised. Brian's teammates had dubious looks of their own, making little effort to hide the doubt they had in this plan of his.

Brian took it all in stride. At least he finally came up with a Plan B

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Author's note: I hope you guys aren't thinking this story is dead. No it's not. I know just where I'm going with this and do plan to keep going until I finish everything. Excuse the pace of my updating though. I got a small promotion at work so I had to dedicate some time to training with the rest of my batch. Anyway, pls R&R in the meantime. Thanks again to all you guys for checking this story out.


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